Diablo II: The Epic Behind the Game
by Robin F. Shirewood
Summary: The story of a ragtag group of heros and a halfdemon who find themselves on a quest to defeat the powers of the Burning Hells before they can destroy Sanctuary. That is if they don't kill each other first... Revised Rated R for language and demon violence
1. Prologue: From Tristram

Diablo II: The Epic Behind the Game  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo II, I, or anything else that blizzard created. In fact, some of my dialogue comes directly from the game, for accuracy purposes only.   
  
The Characters however are of my own design, directly from my chars on Battle. Net  
  
It all began...  
  
  
  
In Tristram...  
  
*******************************************************************************  
  
An ear shattering roar split the boiling air.  
  
"DIABLO!!" He screamed, warning his companions.  
  
Elric Tasslewind remained asleep as his memories turned and flashed in his dreams.   
  
"HURRY!" he had shouted as the Lord of Terror flung him aside.   
  
FLASH  
  
He had battled with Terror, the foul Diablo, while his companions, the archer and the warrior, defended their last party member and friend as the vizjerei searched the Horadric tomb for the spell to unbind hell from the mortal world.  
  
Elric's muscles twitched as he remembered the pain of his injuries in his dream.  
  
Diablo grinned as he threw Elric to the ground and lorded over the fallen rebel. The Prime Evil's power was overwhelming.  
  
FLASH  
  
The monastery shook and crumbled. The grin faded from Diablo's face as he turned to hear the vizjerei finish the spell of unbinding.  
  
FLASH  
  
It was done.  
  
Diablo's plan to swallow Sanctuary into the burning hells had been thwarted.  
  
Elric's legs kicked as he dreamed and remembered his desperate dash to the town portal. The only remaining exit.  
  
How he had barely made it to the closing portal and escaped Diablo. How he was transported back to Tristram just in time to see the monastery collapse on itself.  
  
The people of Tristram cheered.  
  
Even the peg-leg boy, Wirt, smiles and waves to the four of them as Elric feels the relief of knowing that it was over.  
  
Finally, the people could accept him for what he was.  
  
He could accept himself.  
  
Elric flung himself around in his make-shift bed as he dreamed of the first scream.  
  
The crowd quickly retreated as, from the rubble of the monastery, the beast arose.  
  
Even after being crushed under sixty stories of stone and wood, the Lord of Terror refused to die.  
  
FLASH  
  
The battle continued above ground as Elric and his human companions: The Vizjerei, the archer-woman, and the warrior fought to protect Tristram and destroy Diablo once and for all.  
  
But, despite all their courage, skill, and combined power, The Prime Evil proved to be more than capable of taking them by himself.  
  
They were losing.  
  
And losing badly.  
  
His heart sped up and pounded in his chest as he vividly recalled his exhaustion and pain as he resolved to take one last lunge at Diablo.  
  
One final shot.  
  
He sprang forward blindly, both in his sleep and in his dream, bearing the only weapons he had left.  
  
FLASH  
  
Whether by luck, fate, or the divine intervention of the angelic Seraphim, Elric did not know. But as he felt the hard crystal, he knew, somehow, that he had found the key to victory embedded in Diablo's skull, hidden among the many horns upon his crest.  
  
The Prime Evil's bane.  
  
The Soul Stone of Terror.  
  
The scent and taste of the demon's blood filled his mind as he tore the fabled gem from Terror's head and tossed it to the warrior.  
  
FLASH  
  
Elric heard the warrior call for the blacksmith Griswold to throw him his prized Horadric Malus, one of the only two left in existence, as the Lord of Terror threw him away in rage and pain.  
  
He slammed first into one tree, breaking it in half, and then another, falling from it to lay behind a great boulder.   
  
FLASH  
  
He heard the air fill with a howl of fury and pain as he felt the shock of the soul stone exploding into a thousand pieces.  
  
The people of Tristram were, at last, freed from terror.  
  
FLASH  
  
It was later  
  
Over a week later.  
  
A wonderful week of rest and celebration.   
  
A week of praise for the hero's who had saved them, and of morning for the lost King Leoric and the ill-fated Prince Albrecht.  
  
A week of pampering and idolization.  
  
How he had hated it.  
  
Elric still felt the empty void in his soul that had first pushed him to Tristram after IT had happened.  
  
An emptiness that he had to fill elsewhere.  
  
"Where will you go now?" His vizjerei friend asked him as they said their goodbyes.  
  
"I don't know." Elric had answered, "But I'll be sure to slaughter any demons and monsters I find on the way. And where shall you go once you tire of ale and feasts? Where shall your journeys take you, Master Vizjerei?"'  
  
"Home, my friend. To Lut Golein, the Jewel of the desert. I plan to continue my studies there."  
  
"And, I..." The lady-archer announced proudly, "I shall return to the Monastery of my sisterhood. May the Great Eye watch over you, always, dear Elric."  
  
"And you as well, sister." Elric had said, "And where shall you go, my friend?" He asked the warrior of Khanduras.  
  
With a blank meaningless stare, and a voice which stung like fire, he answered.  
  
"To the east, I must go to the east."  
  
Elric Tasslewind awoke with a start and it took him a second to calm himself as his mind pondered over the answer, which had bothered him since he had left Tristram over four months ago.  
  
"East?" He wondered out loud as he stretched his body. "Why would you go east?"  
  
Elric got up and walked on all fours to the edge of the fallen demons camp, kicking several cold bodies out of the way as he went.   
  
Normally, the little beast did not offer him much in the way of prey. But, a camp of almost a hundred of the little fiends, slaying them all had been quite fun and fulfilling.  
  
Both in stomach and in spirit.  
  
He reached the edge of the camp and breathed in the chilled fall air.  
  
Then he took a sniff and was surprised by what he had found.  
  
"Blood is being spilled." He said to himself excitedly as he popped his neck and the bones in his claws, "Or was recently spilled in the north."  
  
Perhaps he would find some other hunters today.  
  
He only hoped that this batch of humans would not attack him and force him to kill them like the last six bands of demon hunting mercenaries.  
  
"Maybe I should be more subtle this time and not just pop out from behind a rock and ask for a mana potion."  
  
Elric knew that, to most humans, his demonic form was far too akin to others of his kind to tell that he was unlike the mindless beast that had been plaguing the wilds. But without a way to replenish his mana stores, he would never be able to take human form and get near a town again.  
  
He unrolled his long bladed tail and let it flail behind him as he began to run, and then sprint in the direction of the smell of the blood.  
  
"I hope they don't try to kill me before I get a chance to talk to talk to them." He prayed  
  
And so the half-demon, Elric Tasslewind disappeared into the forest, leaving a dead and gory fallen camp behind him.  
  
Unaware that he was about to embark on his next great quest.  
  
*****************************************************************************  
  
.... COMMENT OR DIEEEEE!!! Uhhhh oops, that's a bit strong. Well anyways, go ahead and comment. Warning, flames will only make me want to continue the story especially if I know it ticks people off. And as an after note, I know that half-demons are not part of the Diablo storyline, but this is my char to make and MY fic, so just come back and check to see what happens next   
  
C-ya.... Robin 


	2. Chapter 1: The Dangers of Taunt

Diablo II: The Epic Behind the Game  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo II, I, or anything else that blizzard created. In fact, some of my dialogue comes directly from the game,   
  
For accuracy purposes only.   
  
The Characters however are of my own design, directly from my chars on Battle.net  
  
About One Hour later  
  
On the Blood Moor, twenty miles from the Rouge Encampment   
  
*****************************************************************************  
  
"...And To Top it all off, we still haven't seen anything that looks like a Den of Evil! Just a bunch of Zombies, quill rats, and even more Zombies! DAMN I HATE THIS PLACE!!!" The frustrated barbarian screamed off into the distance while his two traveling partners rested under a nearby tree.  
  
"You'll have to try better than that, Tozam." The young necromancer said, looking up to the loud warrior. "The point of the Taunt ability is to make the monsters want to fight you, not make them feel sorry for you, Little Bugga."  
  
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!!!" The large Barbarian, Tozam, howled.  
  
Cathim the Necromancer and Priest of Rathma was not impressed.   
  
"Like I said before, Tozam, You have to have the taunting ability in your voice to make the enemy attack you without thinking. It doesn't matter what you SAY to them so long as they hear your voice. Am I not right, Natthilea?"   
  
The beautiful young sorceress shook her head and continued to scrub the blood stain that had plagued her skirt since the last encounter with the quill rats over an hour ago.  
  
"I don't see why anybody would call a monster to fight him, Cathim." She said finally satisfied with her skirt. "It is far more efficient and less gory to sneak past the foul beast when the chance presents itself."  
  
"Spoken by a true Zann Esu woman." Tozam said quietly, "I don't see why we brought her along from the camp anyway Cathim. It's not like she does much except talk and throw those little fire and ice bolts into the fray while you and I do all the work."  
  
"You're just mad because she hit you with one of those fire bolts." Cathim said before letting Tozam go back to practicing his taunting.   
  
"You'll have to forgive Tozam, Natthilea. To his society, women are merchants and magic is a curse word. He really is a decent person once you get to know him."  
  
"I'll take your word for it, Cathim. But, I really just want to get through this quest before he and I try to kill each other."  
  
"Well, if you do, I promise not to try and resurrect him."  
  
"Thanks, but don't try to resurrect me either. I would rather stay dead than be brought back as your skeleton."  
  
The two magic users chatted for a bit longer about theories of magic and debated the use of her natural elemental magic's against his death studies and soon came to a single agreement.  
  
"Regardless which is better, we could both easily beat Tozam with both hands tied behind our backs."  
  
"I HEARD THAT!!!"  
  
"Ha-ha, Well, we've rested long enough as it is. We should start searching for that Den of Evil encampment." Natthilea said, standing up and grabbing her gnarled staff.  
  
"Hold on a bit..." Tozam said, "I think that I've got it."   
  
"Tozam took a deep breath and screamed at the top of his lungs,  
  
"COME AND FIGHT, YOU WEAKLINGS!!!!"  
  
The sound echoed off into the overcast sky until it finally died out in the distance.  
  
"And so, Tozam the Barbarian of Horragoth has thus learned the Taunt ability"  
  
"Do you have to say something like that every time one of us figures out a new ability, Cathim?" Tozam asked  
  
"Somebody has to; otherwise we would never know just when we each learn these things would we?"  
  
They both laughed for a moment before Natthilea interrupted them.  
  
"Umm, Tozam. That may have not been the best skill to learn right now."  
  
"Oh and why is that Zann Esu?" Tozam asked, paying the girl no serious heed  
  
"THAT'S WHY!!!" She pointed out to the south where she had been facing.  
  
Cathim and Tozam turned around and looked into the direction she was pointing.  
  
Their jaws dropped in unison.  
  
An enormous horde of small, but deadly red imps were charging at them from the south. All equally enraged.  
  
"I guess it worked..." Tozam said  
  
"FALLEN ONES!" Cathim shouted as he pulled out his Necromancer wand and readied himself to summon a clay golem. He really wished that he could summon a Fire one, but unfortunately clay was as advanced as he had been able to learn in the short weeks that he had traveled here from his home in the eastern jungles.  
  
"I don't see a shaman with them, so we don't have to worry about them being raised from the dead." Natthilea told them, taking up battle stance like she had learned in training.  
  
"Seeing as how our Necro hasn't learned how to do that yet..."  
  
"SHUT UP!" Cathim yelled.   
  
The charging imps came closer. So close that the three could now take a decent count as they readied themselves for battle.  
  
"At least one hundred, maybe another fifty if they are really short."  
  
"Guys," Tozam said, a trace of uncertainty in his voice "If we don't survive this i just want ya to know i really love you two."  
  
"OH hush up, that kind of talk doesn't suit a barbarian." Cathim said.  
  
"And, I want you to know that if we survive this, I will personally kill you for learning taunt Tozam." Natthilea threatened   
  
Tozam smiled," I hope that we live for you to keep that promise."  
  
And then all conversation and final farewell were cut short as the Fallen one's reached them and the battle began.   
  
Tozam, as always leaped straight into the fray and, with his two long swords, began to cut down any of the fallen in his reach. Cathim first summoned a clay golem to protect him as he began to focus on cursing the Fallen with his Amplify Damage spell. Unfortunately, his clay golem was overwhelmed and quickly brought to the ground, forcing Cathim to defend himself with his teeth spell and physical blows from his wand.  
  
Natthilea was faring rather well at first, nailing fallen warriors left and right with her ice and fire bolts and providing much needed cover fire for her friends. That was of course before she ran out of mana potions, after that she managed to knock away the imps with her staff until she had forced her way to be back to back with Cathim the Necromancer.  
  
"Do you have any mana potions left!?" She screamed over the mad babbling of the fallen warriors.  
  
"I gave all of mine to Little Bugga!" He answered, smacking one of the fallen with his wand and then slaying it with a flying bone tooth.  
  
"WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT!"   
  
"If I had given them to you, you'd have already used them all up."  
  
"Oh..."  
  
The two heard a loud yell as Tozam barreled through the swarm of gathered demons until he reached his magic using companions.  
  
"Damn beast! I lost one of my swords to them!" He shouted above the din, swinging his remaining blade and felling five of the Fallen in that single sweep.  
  
Natthilea quietly took back what she had said before about magic being so much better than raw physical power.  
  
At least he did not need to rely completely on mana.  
  
"Hurry!" Tozam screamed, jumping heroically in front of his friends, "I'll hold them off while you two escape!"  
  
"Don't be a fool Little Buggy!" Cathim yelled back at him as he used the last of his mana in one last teeth spell, "You can't keep up that pace forever!"   
  
"Besides!" Natthilea said, sending another Fallen One limping back without any teeth. "We're surrounded! We couldn't get away if we wanted to!   
  
She swung her staff one last time and it broke over the head of the target Fallen, leaving her weaponless.  
  
"Ahhh!" She called out as the little demons rushed at her. Luckily, Tozam stepped in front of her and repelled the beast before they could get at her.  
  
They did not have to fight for very much longer, as the Fallen stopped blindly attacking and instead formed a large wall before the three humans and backed them into another stone wall, leaving only five feet of space between the menacing hoard of Fallen and the battle-exhausted warriors.  
  
An uneasy silence overtook the landscape.  
  
"Why did they stop?" Natthilea whispered  
  
"Maybe they're surrendering." Tozam said hopefully.  
  
From out of the sea of red, horned heads pushed forward a small blue Fallen wearing a crown of human finger bones. The little bastard had a wicked evil grin on his face.  
  
"I get the feeling he's not going to surrender, Tozam." Cathim whispered.  
  
"Tonite..." The blue fallen yelled in its high scratchy voice, "...Wee Eat MAN-MEAT!!"  
  
The hoard cheered and clashed their weapons together.  
  
"Somebody come up with a plan, quick." Tozam said, holding up his remaining sword threateningly to the Fallen Leader, who did not seem very worried at all.  
  
"I'm thinking...I'm thinking..." Cathim said hurriedly  
  
"Annd Wee Willl Enjoy Woman-Flesh!" The Fallen leader shouted triumphantly. The hoard cheered even louder.  
  
"THINK FASTER!!!" Natthilea whispered her voice on the edge of panic. "WE NEED AN IDEA NOW!"  
  
"Okay, I think I have an idea" Tozam said with a smile  
  
"WE NEED A BETTER IDEA!!!"  
  
Tozam took no notice of the Zann Esu and stepped forward boldly, clearing his voice.  
  
"FALLEN WARRIORS!!!" He called out to the hoard, his voice filled with a fearful tone that could only be the power of the Howl, an ability of the people of the north barbarian tribes that was meant to drive foes away. It didn't seem to scare the confident Fallen Ones, but it did get their attention.  
  
"WE NOW GIVE YOU THIS CHANCE TO LEAVE THIS PLACE ALIVE!" Tozam bluffed, "TO MY RIGHT IS THE GREAT SORCERESS, HABACALVA! AND AT MY LEFT IS THE GREAT PRIEST RATHMA HIMSELF! AND I AM BUL-KATHOS, THE MIGHTY BARBARIAN KING! IF YOU WISH DEATH, STAY. FLEE IF YOU WISH TO LIVE. LEAVE NOW, OR ELSE!"   
  
The entire hoard looked about at each other as if asking if they thought the man human could be serious.  
  
"That's your big idea!" Natthilea whispered her disbelief too low for the Fallen to hear, "To say that we're legendary warriors who have been dead for thousands of years!"   
  
"Just look powerful and almighty, alright, Habaclava. These little demons don't know that those names are long dead." Tozam whispered through his teeth as he tried to look as fearsome and powerful as possible.  
  
The murmuring passed through the ranks of the hoard as some showed frightened faces.  
  
Could these humans be as powerful as they were being told?  
  
Seeing his minions falter, the blue fallen turned to Tozam.  
  
"Orr Else, whaat, human?"   
  
Tozam raked his brain for retaliation.  
  
"OR ELSE... or else..."   
  
Nothing was coming to him.  
  
"OR ELSE!" Cathim stepped forward, "I WILL SUMMON A MONSTEROUS DEMON OF SUCH POWER THAT NONE OF YOU WILL ESCAPE its WRATH, WHILE I AND MY FRIENDS WALK AMOUNG YOUR CORPES AND LAUGH AT YOUR STUPID RACE'S TINY BRAINS!!"  
  
Panic nearly took the crowd of Fallen and Tozam, Cathim, and Natthilea thought for a moment that the bluff might have worked.  
  
Then the Blue Fallen One laughed   
  
"HAAHAAAHAAAA-HA" It cracked, "No demon in this land exist outside the power of Master Andariel, The Maiden of Anguish! You lie about your power, humans. The Great Evil's rule all demon-kind. COME MY MINIONS, TEAR THEM TO MEAT!! SHOW MORTALS TRUE POWER!"  
  
The hoard laughed and slowly began to advance.  
  
"Well, I suppose that plan failed." Tozam said  
  
"Still, I would rather die than become these beast plaything, so at least I can thank you for that, Tozam." Natthilea told him.  
  
"Well, I just hope that Habaclava, Rathma, and Bul-Kathos forgive us for using their immortal names."  
  
The Fallen drew closer  
  
"Goodbye, Rathma." Natthilea said, ready to fight and die. "Goodbye Bul-Kathos."  
  
"Goodbye, Habaclava." Cathim said.  
  
In one final attempt to turn the Fallen hoard away, Tozam stepped forward valiantly and threw his head back with a full and powerful Howl.  
  
"AARRRROOUUUUHHHHH!!!!!"  
  
The Fallen stopped in their tracks, but did not retreat.  
  
"HAHAHAHAAHAAHA..." The Blue Fallen laughed, "Is thatt the best youu cann do, Human?" The other Fallen, influenced by their overlord, began to laugh and jeer at the barbarian themselves.  
  
"Cumm on, human. Do it again."  
  
Tozam, not willing to give up, threw his head back again.  
  
"ROOOOAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!" A huge, thunderous roar tore through the air, causing the Fallen to jerk around in search for the source.   
  
It seemed to come from every side.  
  
"Whoa, Toz... I mean, Bul-Kathos, I didn't know that you could do that." Cathim said, astounded.  
  
"I didn't do anything." Tozam said equally amazed.  
  
Shouts and screams came from the Fallen as they turned and twisted in panic.  
  
Then, it started.  
  
First, the screams grew in pain and fright as a sudden wall of fire burst up from the ground around the three humans, incinerating the closest Fallen warriors within seconds. Once the Fallen were turned to ashes, then the fire died out and it appeared, for the first time.  
  
It leaped over the shocked band of Fallen with agility unlike any that the human companions had ever seen before and landed right in front of Tozam, Cathim, and Natthilea, facing out toward the sea of no longer very confident Fallen.  
  
The... thing... or... demon or.... whatever it was, was quiet a bit larger than an adult wolf with shiny, jet black scales that would have made it almost impossible to see at night, but made it very visible and menacing on this dreary cloudy day. It walked on all fours, each leg ending in four wicked claws, and a long powerful looking tail with three sharp bone blades running along the side. And its head was not so much foul as just plain frightening.  
  
The snout was sleek and elegant, and two short curved horns protruded from it's crest, but these noble features could not cover the fact that It's mouth hung open, showing a row of razor sharp teeth, and letting an almost slimy green drool run out of it's mouth and onto the ground.   
  
Then the eyes. They were were burning red, glowing like heated steel. Showing no mercy, no pity, only a raw desire to ravage all that was before it.  
  
And the hoard of Fallen was now before it. So after a moment of stunned silence, it attacked.  
  
The thing hurled itself forward and tore through the first rank of demons like butter before the ones closer to the back had any clue what was going on. Those that were not right in front of its teeth were sliced to ribbons by the powerful claws or chopped in half by its tail. Then of course it also bit off heads and limbs of anything that got too close to the teeth. In mere moments, it reduced the hoards numbers to that of only a small mob and showed no sign of slowing. In fact, if Natthilea did not know any better, she would say that the demon was having fun.  
  
"By the ancients, Cathim. I thought you were just bluffing." Tozam said with a smile as he watched the beast rip quickly through several Fallen.  
  
"I WAS BLUFFING YOU DOLT!!!"   
  
"RETRREATT!!!" The blue Fallen screamed as he started to run for his life, " FULLLL RETRREATT!!!"  
  
With all honesty, there really wasn't much left to retreat as the were only about six Fallen left from the original hoard. The Black beast turned to where the Blue one and the last five fallen were running (about 20 yards away) and, pulling his head first back and then quickly forward, spit a large green wad of saliva at them which caught four of the six retreating Fallen, including blue.  
  
The hit Fallen stopped in their tracks and screamed in pain as their two unaffected comrades continued to flee. The green gunk ate away at the Fallen like a powerful, unrelenting acid until the screams stopped and there was nothing left but a pool of green, red, and slightly blue slime.  
  
This left Tozam, Cathim, and Natthilea standing in shock of what they had just witnessed. They were now alone with the beast and almost a hundred Fallen corpses.  
  
The demon thing walked until it was about 10 feet in front of the three adventurers, sat down on its hind legs like a dog, and closed its eyes as it turned its head to spit little bits of green, acid-like saliva on the ground.  
  
"Oh... Gods." Natthilea started  
  
"Hang on, it could be friendly." Cathim said, sounding very doubtful about what he had just said. "Whatever you do, don't attack..."  
  
"RAAAAAAA" Tozam, seeing that the demon thing was occupied with spitting out the green stuff, lunged forward with his sword.  
  
"NO YOU FOOL!!!!" The magic users said together.  
  
Tozam rushed quickly at the unmoving beast, hoping to get the first and last blow while the thing was distracted. He was sorely mistaken as, in the last instant before the barbarian's sword came into striking range, the demon hopped aside and whipped out it's tail (the blades now retracted) to effectively trip the barbarian up into a heap on the ground.  
  
Tozam turned himself over and saw the thing standing over him. Uncertainty clouded his mind before the beast stepped back. It seemed that while it had been occupied with Tozam, his friend the necromancer had rushed forth and jumped on the beast back in an attempt to bash it in the head with his wand.  
  
Unfortunately, this did little more than frustrate the creature, which reached over its back with its tail to grasp the necromancer by the neck and drop him into a heap with the barbarian.  
  
Now, they were both at its mercy as the thing opened its mouth in what Cathim and Tozam thought was a horrid smile.  
  
Then, it jerked forward with a grunt as a decent sized fire bolt hit it in the back of the head. Forcing it to close its jaw and look behind it and thus taking its eyes off of the two humans and turning with an infuriated growl and a red-hot gaze to the last one.   
  
"HURRY!" The sorceress commanded, seeing the fury in the thing's eyes and realizing that it must not like fire.  
  
Before she could ready another spell, the thing had leaped forward and knocked her off her feet, laying her out on her back with the demon pinning her body down. Quickly, it lowered its head to her throat and grasp her neck firmly in its jaws, just loose enough to where the sharp teeth did not cut her skin.   
  
She screamed as she felt the demon's jaw tense up, getting ready to administer the killing bite that would likely take her head off.  
  
"NATTHILEA!!!!" Cathim and Tozam screamed, knowing that they would never move fast enough to save her.  
  
It stopped.  
  
Though she couldn't see, Natthilea could feel the teeth slightly loosen around her skin.   
  
Was it playing with her, hoping to make her squirm?  
  
She jumped as she felt some of the demon's drool touch her throat, it did not burn, but it was still scary beyond any mortal belief.   
  
Then she felt it run its long tongue over her neck.  
  
She cried, of that she could not deny. And she would have dared anybody in the same situation not to. She was frightened, after all. She had only just finished her training. She still had so much to do. She didn't want to die yet.  
  
Surprise and relief filled her as the jaws suddenly released her and the demons weight disappeared. Still, she heard the thing over her face.  
  
"Sniff...sniff...sniff...sniff"  
  
It was smelling her? Why.  
  
The demon's presence lifted up and she opened her eyes and sat herself up to find she was face to face with it.   
  
Her heart stopped as she saw bright green eyes looking back at her. Human eyes which showed her disbelief and concern. All of the human emotions that she had thought were void in the thing's formerly red eyes came to life.   
  
The air stood still as it opened its mouth and much to her surprise, spoke.  
  
"Natalie?" It asked, as though its familiar voice could not believe what it was seeing  
  
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YAAAAHHHHHAAA Chapter one is up... I know I said I'd do it by Tuesday and I did, but I forgot that it takes 24 hours for fanfiction.net to put the thing up on the site. Any way's I hope you will Read and Review. I will post the second chapter when I get at least two signed reviews sent to me.   
  
Come one, come all, come often, always R&R... I will be updating soon.  
  
Signed... Robin 


	3. Chapter 2: Family Resemblance

Diablo II: The Epic Behind the Game  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo II, I, or anything else that blizzard created. In fact, some of my dialogue comes directly from the game, for accuracy purposes only.   
  
The Characters however are of my own design, directly from my chars on Battle. Net  
  
Wow, I got some comments and I'm luving it ^_^   
  
Now, where did my last cliff hanger end…? Oh, yeah.  
  
Exactly where we left off last time  
  
*******************************************************************************  
  
"Natalie?" The demon asked its bright green eyes wide with surprise. "Is it really you?"   
  
"STAY BACK!!" Natthilea told it, scooting herself back and closing her eyes. She had read about monsters with the power to read and take over minds with a stare. And she had also read about what became of their victims when they were useless.  
  
"Stay away! Or I'll..."  
  
"It is you!" She heard the beast say as it rushed towards her again. It had a strange kind of excitement in its voice.  
  
"I thought that I'd never see you again, Natalie."  
  
Natalie? Nobody had called her Natalie since she was taken from home and joined the Zann Esu (The Sorceress Guild) when she was seven.  
  
She felt a claw touch her under her chin and tilt her head up, and then she jumped when she felt another at her neck.  
  
'This is it..." She thought, "This thing is going to slit my throat!"  
  
Much to her surprise, the clawed hand gently wiped away the drool, which had been running down her neck, before it flowed down her chest and onto her clothes.  
  
Shocked, Natthilea opened her eyes and looked up to the demon. It smiled with a closed mouth. No teeth, drool, or malice, Just a kind, caring smile.  
  
And the bright green eyes showed emotion which, she had been taught, demons should not possess.  
  
Unless...  
  
No, it couldn't be...  
  
"Who are you?" Natthilea asked, hoping that she was right.  
  
"Natalie," It said, "It's me... Elric."  
  
"Elric?" Her entire brain shut-down, as a flood of memories from her child-hood came rushing to the top of her mind.  
  
Could this be true?  
  
The half-demon nodded and a moment of shocked silence passed before one solid fact soaked into her mind.  
  
It WAS Elric.  
  
"WHOA!!!" Natthilea called out with a happy excitement as she lunged forward to embrace the beast.   
  
Elric, being very careful of his claws, hugged her back  
  
"Oh, God's girl! It's been so long!" Elric said with an excited happiness (which proved that he was who he said beyond any doubt) "After all these years."  
  
Then, he pulled back with a look of horror and panic, saying,  
  
"Oh, lord! I am SO sorry Natalie! Are you alright? I didn't hurt you, did I?"  
  
"I'm fine Elric." Natalie told him, "You scared me to death, but I'm none the worse for the wear."  
  
Elric breathed a sigh of relief and then, using a single claw, reached up to sweep some stray hair from her face. It pleased him to see that she didn't pull away when he touched her.  
  
So, she really did remember him. After over fourteen years.  
  
"I can't believe it..." Elric said, then, cocking his head to the side curiously, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"What do you mean 'What am I doing here?'? What are you doing here?"  
  
"WOULD SOMEBODY, PLEASE, TELL US WHAT'S GOING ON!!!"  
  
The half-demon and the sorceress looked up to see a shocked necromancer and a very confused barbarian standing in the exact spot where Elric had left them a few minutes before.  
  
"Natthilea Tasslewind! As your traveling companion, I demand an explanation!" Cathim shouted.  
  
"Has she betrayed us?" Tozam asked the necromancer in a quieter voice.  
  
"That's what I'm trying to figure out, Little Bugga!" The priest of Rathma said harshly.  
  
"Oh..." Natalie started sarcastically, "And I suppose that you've never just stopped after a battle to hug a demon that tried to kill you only a moment before?"  
  
"Well, there was that time I broke my mother's favorite butcher knife while I was training, but I don't know if that counts as a demon..."  
  
"FOCUS TOZAM!!!"  
  
"You don't actually hang out with humans like this, do you?" Elric asked Natalie, tilting his head to the side to indicate Cathim and Tozam  
  
"No, not usually. Just for this quest." Natalie said to Elric before turning to her traveling companions.  
  
"It's alright, guys." She told them, "I know him; he's not as dangerous as he looks."   
  
"Say's you." Elric said, backing up a few paces and sitting on his haunches like a dog again. "I'm dangerous, alright. But only when I have to deal with monsters and defend myself from certain human's who attack first and ask questions later, if at all."  
  
"You're not helping."   
  
"Hey, I'm just being honest, Natalie."  
  
Natalie shook her head and turned to the necromancer and barbarian. "Well, I suppose that introductions would be helpful. Cathim, Tozam, this is my baby brother, Elric Tasslewind." She said, indicating the half-demon.  
  
The two men looked at each other with a look of complete confusion, and then looked from the monster, which was now licking blood from its claws, to the beautiful young sorceress.  
  
"You know," Tozam said, tilting his head to the side, "If you look at the two of them like this, there actually is some family resemblance."  
  
Elric stopped licking his claws and laughed at the human's antics while Natalie gave Tozam an indignant look.  
  
"Well I never..."  
  
"Come on, Natalie." Elric said, getting up on all fours again, "I'm sure he was only joking."  
  
"Well, actually..." Tozam was cut off when Cathim rammed him in the stomach with his wand.  
  
"Natthilea, are you saying that you're some sort of demon as well?" Cathim asked, taking up a more offensive stance as though the two of them would attack the necromancer at any moment.  
  
"WHAT!!" Natalie started a scolding look on the necromancer. "Why of all the..."  
  
"Hold on," Elric said, trotting up to Cathim and Tozam. "First off, I was adopted. So there shouldn't be any resemblance. Second off, I am only HALF demon, so don't go jumping to any conclusions about her. And third..."  
  
Elric's ears perked up and his eyes went wide. Slowly, he tilted his head back and took a sniff of the air.  
  
"And third, we need to get outta here. There's a herd of gargantuan beast coming this way out of the east. Normally I would stay, but I don't think you guys are prepared to handle five of those things at once."  
  
"Wait, we still have to get to the Den of Evil like Akara asked us to." Cathim said, "It's the only way that we can get the support of the Rogues."  
  
"The Rogues? You mean the Sisters of the Sightless Eye?" Elric asked.   
  
"Yes, how did you know...?"   
  
"Well, if you need to get in good with the sisterhood, you've come to the right demon. I have a friend high up in the ranks of the Order of the Sightless Eye, if you guy's would be so kind as to show me where their monastery is, I could talk to her and see about getting you what you need."  
  
"To the Monastery guarding the Rogue pass? Are you mad?" Tozam started.  
  
"Well, I wouldn't look like this when I went up to it. I'm not stupid enough to walk right into arrow range of the monastery looking like a demon. The rouges would pick me off as soon as they saw me."  
  
"Elric, the rogues don't control that monastery anymore." Natalie told him.  
  
"What? What are you talking about?"  
  
"The monastery was taken over by real demons over three months ago." Natalie told the shocked half-demon, "The passage way to the east has been blocked since then and the rogues have been driven into a small encampment about a league away from here."   
  
"When did this happen?" Elric asked.  
  
"Let's talk about this somewhere else shall we," Tozam said, squinting out into the east. "I think the demon thing..."   
  
"ELRIC!" Elric scolded  
  
"Sorry, I think that Elric is right. There is something coming this way, and they look big enough to be wendigo's"  
  
"No, wendigos have more of a tattered leather smell to them. These are gargantuan; they carry the scent of pine with them like a skunk carries its stink."   
  
The three human's looked at the black beast with a questioning gaze.  
  
"I've been roughing it out in the wilds for almost five months! I think I've had time to figure out what every thing smells like." Elric started up a bit frustrated at the idea that they did not believe him.   
  
He took a steadying breath and closed his eyes in thought.  
  
"Besides it's getting late, and it might be a good idea to find a place to camp for the night." He said, "I saw a cave about a quarter of a mile from here that should do rather nicely."  
  
"WHAT! YOU'RE GOING TO STAY WITH US?" Cathim voice said plainly that he did not like the idea at all.  
  
"Of course i am," Elric confirmed, hopping back to stand beside his adoptive sister. "I just found a long lost loved one. Do you think that i'm just going to leave?"   
  
Cathim and Tozam had no answer.  
  
"Besides, if something is going on, I would like to know about it. I noticed that there have been a lot more monsters in the woods lately but i never thought that the Sisterhood of the sightless eye had lost their monastery. You have got to tell me what happened."  
  
"Alright, but let us do it quickly," Tozam said, "They're coming."  
  
Cathim saw Natalie pet Elric, or so the beast called its self, fondly. He didn't trust the demon one bit, and he wasn't about to go following it into a dark, shadowy cave.  
  
"And why should we follow you to a remote cavern in the middle of no where, Elric?" Cathim said, drawing out Elric's name with an oozing sarcasm.  
  
"That's not what you're really asking, what you're really asking is 'why should you trust an evil, hell-spawned demon?'"  
  
"Indeed, you seem to have a knack for reading my mind, so how do we know you didn't just implant some false memory in Natthilea's mind so that we would follow you? Your kind will stop at nothing to manipulate the people of this world, so how do we know that you are who you say you are?"  
  
"Look at the facts, Necromancer. A). I just saved all of your lives from those Fallen, for which I have yet to receive so much as a 'thank you'. B). YOU attacked ME, not the other way around. C). I was not at Natalie's mercy a moment ago, she was at mine. What in the high hells make's you think that a creature of my power would go through all this drivel and try to make you trust me when I could have easily killed you all a moment ago. Or right this second if I  
  
really wanted to."  
  
Elric's tone was agitated, almost to the point of a small fury.  
  
"Now, I'm offering you a chance to come to a place of safety for the night. If you want to stay and be eaten by gargantuan or whatever the hell comes next, be my guest." He turned his head up to Natalie, "Do you believe that i really am the Elric you remember?"   
  
"Not a doubt in my mind." She answered.  
  
"And I will go to." Tozam said, walking over to stand beside Natalie. "A good warrior knows when to fight and when to listen, for both must be done in order to secure life. I apologize for attacking you before, half-demon, and I plan to make it up by giving you a chance."  
  
"Tozam, you can't be serious?"  
  
"Listen, Cathim, he makes a good point. If he wanted us dead he could do it. And after saving us I think that I acted a bit irrational when I attacked..."  
  
"Apology accepted, by the way." Elric chimed in.  
  
"Thank you. But, Cathim, what do we have to lose besides our lives."  
  
"You're mad... Following a demon..."  
  
"HALF-DEMON" Natalie and Elric said together, and then they looked at each other, and laughed.  
  
"Just like old times, huh Natalie?"   
  
"Shall we get on to the caves then," Tozam rushed, looking back out to the east where small figures had appeared on the horizon. "We really are in no condition to fight them. Come on, Cathim."  
  
Cathim looked to the ground.   
  
He knew that this was insane. He knew that this was such an obvious trap.   
  
A demon? helping humans?  
  
It was impossible, unheard of.  
  
This was all beyond crazy.  
  
But, nobody had ever considered a priest of Rathma to be sane anyways, so why the hell not. After all, his people did not fear death.  
  
"Alright, let's go." He said in a defeated tone. "But, I'm watching you, demon. Don't think for a moment that i'm going to fall asleep with you around."  
  
The Half-demon, Elric, smiled and trotted into the south.   
  
"Well, let's go, then. After all, Natalie and I have fourteen years to catch up on. And i really want to hear about what's happened with the rogues."   
  
"In time, Elric," Natalie said as the three human's started to follow him, "But, what i want to know is, How in the world you got away from the farm at Atisar. Father must have been furious when he found out you left. He was always so protective of you and the others."  
  
Elric stopped in his tracks and bowed his head, allowing Natalie to catch up to him. When he spoke again, his eyes did not meet her own.  
  
"You don't know, do you?" He said to his sister.  
  
"Know what?"  
  
"I... I'll explain when we get to the cave and set up camp." He said, a lump definite in his throat. he tried to swallow it down, but it wouldn't budge.  
  
"No... Tell me now; What are you talking about, Elric?" Natalie asked, sounding worried.  
  
"Natalie..." He had trouble putting the words against his tongue and his teeth. "Atisar was destroyed, everybody else is dead."   
  
*******************************************************************************  
  
Another Chapter up and running!   
  
Yippee!!! (Wait, I left it off on a sad note, why am I cheering?)  
  
Alright, now to comment on some of the comments I've been getting.   
  
First off, I know my spelling isn't top notch but until this chapter, I've been unable to use spell check on it due to the fact that my new computer, which I am using, did not have Microsoft Works on it until now. So I will be reposting the previous chapters with all corrections made.   
  
And also, for anybody who has noticed, i know that the prologue is sketchy and lacks detail and that is the way I was intending it. In the prologue, Elric is dreaming and i doubt many people have very vivid dreams. I WILL go into detail about my half-demon's history in future chapters.   
  
I await more comments, flames, and constructive critique. SO, come back and leave something or i will be forced to feed you to my pet dragon. ^_^ just kidding.  
  
Come back soon...   
  
Signed, Robin 


	4. Chapter 3: A Bad Camping Place

Diablo II: The Epic Behind the Game  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo II, I, or anything else that blizzard created. In fact, some of my dialogue comes directly from the game,   
  
For accuracy purposes only.   
  
The Characters however are of my own design, directly from my chars on Battle.net  
  
Oh, dear I never thought that publishing something online could be so addictive, AHHHHH, I can't stop!!! Lucky for me. Well, I suppose that this is what so many people like to call a 'hobby', or in my case, 'obsession'.   
  
Maybe, I don't know. I was never very good when it came to school vocabulary.  
  
There is a warning with this chapter; it is purely for catching up on histories and story-line things. There is precious little combat here, which I plan to make up for next chapter. So just read for the story and plz try to bear with me.  
  
Ok, enough of my babbling... Enjoy.  
  
About fifteen minutes later, in a nearby cavern.  
  
*********************************************************************************  
  
"Tell me what happened, Elric." Natalie said, speaking for the first time since Elric had told her of the fate of Atisar.  
  
Cathim and Tozam sat on the opposite side of the small camp-fire as Elric took in a deep breath. The last few minutes of silence following the complete ion of setting up the tent and a campfire in the mouth of the cave had been awkward time. Cathim and Tozam sat quietly clearly concerned about their present well-being and that of their apparently shocked friend. Seeing as how they had had little to say to the black half-demon who had led them to this cave, they merely waited for someone, preferably Natthilea, (or Natalie, which Elric had been calling her since he first realized who she was) to start some sort of conversation.  
  
The chosen topic was not what Cathim really wanted to know, but he supposed that he could probably ask his own questions in time, assuming that the story of Atisar did not take all night.  
  
"What's Atisar?" Tozam asked Elric, apparently glad that someone had spoken before him.  
  
Elric, sitting on his haunches once again (Cathim was beginning to see Elric as some sort of wolf or dog, judging by the way his body kept ending up in these positions) looked up to the curious barbarian with a sad look in his bright green eyes.  
  
"Atisar is, or was, our home village." Elric told him, a far off, storyteller quality in his voice. "It was a small, quiet farming hamlet about a weeks travel from the port city of Kingsport on the edge of The Great Ocean. It was so small that it didn't show up on most maps. Population never reached more than a couple of hundred at the most."  
  
"Will you stop referring to our home in the past tense and tell me what happened, Elric!" Natalie scowled  
  
It was obvious that she did not want to be kept from the news.  
  
"Well, alright. I suppose you have a right to know." Elric said in a sad tone as he stretched his body out and lay down on his legs, (Once again reminding Cathim and Tozam of an obedient dog).  
  
He gazed into the fire for a moment before closing his eyes and beginning his tale.   
  
"It all began about a year ago, when word reached Atisar about a sudden tax spike. Apparently, Leoric, The newly re-titled Black King, was preparing for a war with the kingdom of Westmarch and wanted his loyal subjects to pay the cost. A royal notice was sent to every village in Khanduras, signed by the King's highest advisor, the Archbishop Lazarus..." Elric's voice was riddled with disgust at the mention of the Archbishop and, for just a moment; his eyes lost their green, human appearance and turned flame red.   
  
Quickly, he shook his head and his eyes returned to green.  
  
"Atisar was, unfortunately, no exception. The decree was brought by a band of overly loyal paladins who served the Archbishop without question. It was unbelievable."  
  
"The paladins?" Tozam asked, trying his best to keep up with the story.  
  
"No, you fool! The price of the taxes." Elric snapped, literally bringing his jaws together with the said 'snap'.  
  
"It was well over 250,000 gold pieces per family in the village."  
  
"250,000?!" Natalie reeled in shock of such a number. "Father could barley pay 25 gold pieces per month to pay the taxes back when I was still living there!"  
  
"Nobody in the village could pay such outrageous taxes, Natalie. Even if the entire town pooled together every coin we had, we could hardly make half of that amount. So, anyways, the paladins left saying that we had two months to come up with the money or we would be removed from the protection of the crown."   
  
He sighed.   
  
"And...?" Natalie asked, afraid of the answer.  
  
"And I'm sure you remember how stubborn Father was on those matters." Elric said dispersedly. "He rallied the people together, stirred them up and fanned the flames of anger that they were all feeling. He said, "We owe nothing to the Black King Leoric or his Zakarum dogs'. And he urged the people to stand up to the Paladins when they returned. And they did. When the troops arrived to collect, they were greeted by over seventy men armed with rusted swords, picks, and wood axes."  
  
"Oh, By the Ancients" Tozam slumped back, devouring every shred of Elric's story, "Farmers? Against well armed, seasoned troops?"  
  
"But... But, surely you were there to help them, Elric. I mean, the people of the village had grown to love and depend on you so much."  
  
"Father told me to stay out of it. He said that I would only make the Paladins think the whole of Atisar was allied with the darkness. So, instead he charged me with looking after the women and children down in the town sanctuary. He stood out in front of them with your brothers Coris and Marcus and told the solders that neither he nor any other village would pay such a ridiculous tax. That they would only serve King Leoric if he would set a fair price on his aid."  
  
The air hung still and the only movement in the small camp was the sound of fire, snapping and crackling as it ate through the tinder which was fed to it by Tozam.  
  
"And..." Elric hesitated, "And then.... They just left."  
  
"What?" Tozam was taken by surprise and Natalie let out a sigh of relief.  
  
Too soon, as Cathim was sure by Elric's still depressed demeanor.  
  
"They just left?" Cathim questioned, defiantly still suspicious of what Elric was saying.  
  
"They turned their horses around and galloped away without a word." Elric confirmed, and chuckled weakly. "We... we thought that we had won something, that we had beaten the system without any blood being shed at all. 'Oh yeah' we were saying, 'They know better than to mess with family men who have children to protect, after all, they follow the light just as we.' We, we had a big party that night. All the children stayed up late and played while the men lit a huge bonfire and told stories for half the night."  
  
He sucked a breath through his razor sharp teeth and shook his head in a regretful disgust.  
  
"We were such fools!"  
  
He continued,  
  
"The next day went on like any other, Father worked in the fields with Marcus and Coris while I went off to Old Dominic's house for lessons in the arts..."  
  
"Old Dominic? Who the hell is Old Dominic?" Natalie asked.  
  
"Oh, right. Old Man Dominic moved in after you left with that Zann Esu recruitment woman. Dominic was a sage who claimed to come from Kurast. He said that he came to study his own branch of magic away from the Zakarum Travical. After a few months, Father found out that his specialty was Demonology."  
  
"Demonology? Isn't the study of demonology outlawed by the Zakarum church?" Cathim asked.  
  
"So is raising a demon in your home along with your children I'm sure." Elric said, sarcastically in answer to the Priest of Rathma. "In time, Dominic found out about me through one of the towns children, Talsimm if I remember right."  
  
"That Talsimm never did have any sense." Natalie told Tozam and Cathim, who only nodded as if they had some idea of whom she was talking about.  
  
"And Dominic flipped over the idea of being able to study a live demon. He thought that i was some sort of captive and was more intrigued than ever when he saw me and claimed that he had never seen anything like me before. He offered Father 400 gold pieces for me. Of course, he refused, saying that I was not just some beast but that I was apart of the family and I had my own right to learn as any of his children."  
  
"Wait," Cathim said, "You were almost sold for 400 gold pieces?"  
  
"I was only six and the size of a cat." Elric explained in a flat tone to the necromancer, "I hadn't learned how to fight, shape shift, spit acid, cast spells, or color shift yet so I was pretty much just a little demon that knew how to read common language and talk."  
  
He continued on where he had been so rudely interrupted,  
  
"Anyways, everything was going on as it normally did. Until that night." He suddenly stopped and sounded very sad again, "It happened during a town meeting, while the children were out in the street. I was out playing with them when I first hear Thomas, one of the town's guardsmen, scream off in the distance. Within just a few moments, they were in the gates and started to ravage every thing in sight."  
  
"What were they?"  
  
Once again, Elric hesitated.   
  
"Fallen One's, hundreds upon hundreds of them. Oh, God... It was less then a year ago now. I had one of the kid's raise the alarm while I tried to hurry the others to the sanctuary. It was before i learned how to fight... how to hunt..." He paused, "How to kill... I got the kids away while the town's folk came out of the great hall and took up any arms at hand to fight. I remember how I saw Father with his old sword and Old Man Dominic throwing fireballs and frozen orbs at the Fallen Ones."  
  
Elric laid his head on the ground, closed his eyes, and shook with anger as old wounds were cut open in his mind and the salt was poured into them by having to retell what he saw.  
  
"I fought, tooth and claw, I fought. But I didn't have any experience battling real demons. The closest I ever got was with the illusions Dominic conjured to see how I'd react. I don't remember how exactly, but I was knocked unconscious."  
  
Elric opened his eyes to reveal that they had once again glowed fire red.  
  
"And the last thing I remember seeing before I passed out was the band of paladins on horseback, watching the massacre from the outer gate of the village and not lifting A DAMN FINGER TO HELP!!!!" The last words came out in more of a growl than words as Elric pounded his clawed fist into the ground.  
  
It took Elric to collect himself, which was good because Natalie, who had backed away when he had become violent for that moment and retreated to sit next to Tozam, was also devastated. The half-demon had just told her about the destruction of the place where she was born. Where she had played as a child and where she and her brothers had first seen a curious baby demon come out to see their games. It couldn't be true, could it?  
  
"When I finally came to, I was in demon form and everything was gone. Burned to the ground. I... i couldn't even tell were two piles of bones met or whether it was only one person or several children who laid in front of were the sanctuary used to stand. I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find any other survivors."  
  
Silence overtook them all once again for several long moments, interrupted only by the crackling of the fire and the low, steady sounds of Natalie's sobbing.  
  
Cathim finally broke it.  
  
"And how, pray tell, did you survive?" He asked, not at all moved  
  
"If I knew, I would tell you Necromancer." Elric answered with a bit of venom in his voice, "All I know is that I was technically human when I was knocked out and when I woke up, I was in demon-form."  
  
"Technically human? What do you mean?" Cathim asked.  
  
"I'll show you later." Elric said quickly before he finished on his saddening story.  
  
"So, in the end, I buried all the bodies I could find and found a grave stone in the stone workers shop. I inscribed the words, 'Atisar: Taxed and Betrayed' into it with my claws and left it standing over the mass grave in the town square."  
  
Elric paused again and raised his head to look at the three humans opposite him. Natalie's eyes were stained with tears. Tozam kept his eyes closed and had his head bowed out of respect for the dead.  
  
Cathim alone, being a student of the arts of Rathma was able to look at Elric without being in any way touched by the half-demon's story. To him, death was just a natural part of life.  
  
'Damn Necromancers. 'Elric thought unbidden, 'Insensitive bastards.'  
  
"After that," Elric continued, his throat beginning to grow sore from both remembrance and lack of drink. "I salvaged what supplies I could and, I admit, raided Old Dominic's vault which he had hidden under his house in case of emergencies. I took most of his magic books, an enchanted sword, and over 12,000 gold pieces that he had been saving for a rainy day that never came for him. Once I finished, I said a prayer at the grave site and left. There was nothing left for me at Atisar, so I just left."  
  
The silence returned as Natalie took in what Elric had said. For several frightening moments, Elric was afraid that she was going to blame him for what had happened. Granted that she had a right to, but still.  
  
"And this was almost a year ago?" Natalie asked  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then there is no use crying over it. It is done and over." She tried to wipe away the tears and show the others that she would remain strong despite all that she had heard.  
  
"I pray that Father, Marcus, Coris, and all of the others will rest in peace. And I will keep them all in my prayers. Thank you, Elric."  
  
'Don't thank me just yet.' Elric thought, flattening his pointed wolf-like ears against his head.  
  
  
  
Cathim, noticing Elric's trouble talking, dug into his pack and pulled out a canteen. After taking a swallow of the contents himself, he tossed it to Elric, who caught it (with difficulty) in both claws.  
  
"You look thirsty," he said, his face calm and, surprisingly, accepting. "Have a drink. That is, if you can drink water as you lap up blood."  
  
"Cathim!" Natalie scolded. "There is no need to be harsh! That comment was uncalled for!"  
  
"It's alright, Natalie. I've gotten used to it." Elric said before throwing his head back and draining the insides of the canteen down his gullet. When he was finished, he yawned and popped several bones in his jaw before attempting to toss the canteen back to Cathim.  
  
"Keep it!" Cathim said quickly, pulling back when he saw that Elric had left a substantial amount of demon drool around the mouthpiece. "I have others."  
  
"Thanks." Elric said, wiping the drool off with a claw and setting the canteen beside him. It was then that Cathim realized the half-demon had done that on purpose.  
  
But before he could say anything about it, Elric asked,  
  
"Does anybody have a mana potion?"   
  
"Aye." Tozam answered, bringing a hand up to his belt where he had been carrying them. "I have a few of the blue vials."  
  
"Can I have one?"  
  
"Now hold on!" Cathim stopped Tozam before the barbarian said yes. "Seeing as how they are mine, I want to know. What do you need a mana potion for?"  
  
Elric chuckled and shook his head.  
  
"I need one so that you guys won't be so afraid of me anymore." He explained, "I even scared you, Natalie. So I think it's best if the three of you weren't facing a demon anymore. Besides, Cathim, you said you wanted to know what I meant by 'Technically' human."  
  
"If it means I get to see some new magic, then I think it's alright" Natalie said, trying to put on a cheerful face despite her obvious sorrow.  
  
"I don't see why not, after all you haven't tried to harm us yet." Tozam said tossing a vial to Elric, who only barely caught it after a moment of fumbling with the glass container. "But I think I already have an idea of the magic of which you speak."   
  
"Not tried to harm us yet, Tozam? And what do you call what happened out on the Blood Moor earlier?"  
  
"Come on, Cathim. You're just mad because he dropped you on your handsome little head. Did we lose that funny, smarmy, necromancer when we picked up our new Friend? "  
  
"Friend? No, I just don't trust that demon."  
  
"Well, then maybe you'll be able to trust me more in a minutes." Elric said as he pulled the stopper from the vial and drained the blue liquid within just as he had the water.  
  
"Awwgg..." He shook off the taste with disgust. "I hate the taste of these things."   
  
Elric tossed the vial back to Tozam, who caught it with ease and put it away in his supplies pack for future use.  
  
"Alright, here it goes."  
  
Elric got up on his haunches again and closed his eyes as he focused all of his will into a mental image of the spell he was about to perform. It would take him a second to start since it had been so long since he had last used this enchantment, but once he it got going; his magic would be able to handle the rest.  
  
It started with his skin, which suddenly felt to have lost its tight, comfortable, place around his muscles. His black scales melted into one sheet of human skin which appeared to be slightly tanned without becoming dark like the peoples of the desert beyond the mountain pass. Just like Natalie's.   
  
His bones began to contort and place themselves into their false position. His muzzle and teeth retracted and became like those of a human while, at the same time, a dark brown hair grew from his head and newly formed scalp, once again, very much like his sister's. With another pull of magic, his claws and horns retracted and, in place of the four claws, five human fingers grew on each hand.  
  
Before the transformation was complete, Elric threw in a trick that he had learned only a few months ago from a good friend of his. In the last moments before he became completely human, he used the last of his replenished mana stores to summon an outfit of clothes which he had put away in the realm between worlds for just this sort of occasion. They appeared on him just as his form filled out entirely and looked to have just appeared out of nowhere to the three, very astonished humans.  
  
And then it was done.  
  
Now, around the campfire sat a sorceress, a barbarian, a necromancer, and a nineteen year old human boy with tanned skin, dark brown hair and a nice black tunic/trouser combination (which did not suit his eyes and hair at all) for clothes.  
  
He was almost impossible to tell from any other human unless a person could see his eyes, which had retained their unnaturally bright green and stood out very well against his other features.  
  
"Is this better, Cathim?" The now human Elric asked the Necromancer.   
  
Cathim was struck speechless for the first time that he could ever remember. The black demon, which had been drooling and growling at him only a moment before, had turned into a perfectly respectable looking young man that he could say defiantly bore a striking family resemblance to Natthilea... or Natalie as he was also beginning to call her.  
  
"Strike me down!" Tozam started up with a smile, "That's the best trick I've seen in a long time."  
  
"Lords, Elric..." Natalie said, "You look like Father, and Marcus..."  
  
"Old Man Dominic made a deal with Father. If Dominic could help me discover my powers and teach me to control them, then he would be allowed to study me. You could say that he taught me a great deal more than he expected to. In fact, after he got it in his head that I wasn't just some animal, he started to train me as a mage and I learned how to control my magical nature."  
  
"But... I don't get it." Cathim said, wondering if it had only been Elric's demonic appearance which had been unsettling him. If it was, then he had failed to look beneath the surface of the situation as he had been taught to do for his entire life.   
  
"Why didn't you introduce yourself to us like this?"  
  
"For three reasons, Necro. First, it would have been deceit on my part if I had just showed up and joined up with you. Besides, I didn't know that Natalie was apart of your group until you said her name and I got a good whiff of her."  
  
"Not to mention a taste." She said flatly.  
  
"I already had you in my jaws, so why the hell not."  
  
"Hrumpp" she turned to the side indignantly.  
  
"Secondly," Elric continued. "My human form is just as weak and fragile as any other, not to mention much less terrifying than my natural demon form. So against large numbers of Fallen Ones (Or any monsters for that matter) I prefer to be in demon mode where I am most lethal. And third, I couldn't have even if I wanted to." He explained, "I have a very potent magic prowess and my physical power when I'm a demon is beyond belief, especially when I go into a rage. But the draw back is that I have absolutely no regenerative ability like normal humans do. That is, if I'm hurt my body won't heal its self. I need help from a healer or a healing potion. And when my mana stores go dry (as they now are from using that spell) I can't use anything else until I have a mana potion. I ran out of mana potions over two months ago and was forced to go demon on a group of blood hawks that attacked me."  
  
"So, you're now human until you get a mana potion, right?"  
  
"Sorry, Cathim. No such luck for you. I need mana to disguise myself as a human, but that's all it is, a disguise. I can rip off this false skin and release myself from this form in just a few moments. Kinda like you can put on tighter clothes and take forever to do so, but get out of them in an instant."  
  
"Wow, that must be some advanced magic?" Natalie asked.  
  
"Actually, it's something that I think only I can do BECAUSE I'm a half-demon. But, it was Dominic who designed the spell for me, and then Vajiha added the enchanted clothes."  
  
"Enchanted?"  
  
"Yeah, this tunic and the pants correspond with my scales." When he saw her questioning look, he explained. "Oh, apparently, I'm part demon, part human, and part chameleon because I can change my scale color at will. I can only do two colors at a time though, in a very distinct pattern. So, in this case, black doesn't suit me."  
  
Elric snapped his fingers and, in an instant, his tunic changed to bright green to match his eyes and his trousers to a common forest brown.  
  
"And just like that, I have a fine new suit."  
  
"I was wondering why your scales were midnight black when you used to be solid white." Natalie said with a giggle.  
  
"White?" Tozam laughed as well, "Must have been handy when you got lost in the snow, huh, Elric?"  
  
"HEY! Don't make fun... That actually happened one winter." The two burst into laughter, "Besides, I like black. And it is more frightening. And if I were pink or something, no creature in its right mind would take me seriously."  
  
"It must have been fun," Cathim said, breaking a smile, "but how did you get stuck with a name like 'Elric' when they should have named you Snow-White?"  
  
"Actually, I named him." Natalie said, "…And Elric is an old Amazon word that quite literally means..."  
  
"STOPPPPPPPPP!!!!!" Elric tried to stop her.  
  
"...White-Rose."  
  
"NNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
The entire party fell into a fit of laughter and the topic shortly came to each party member telling light hearted stories about their lives.  
  
They laughed at the tales from Atisar that the now human Elric told.  
  
They snickered at stories of Cathim's youth at the Temple of Rathma.  
  
At Horrigoth's great prankster, Tozam the Little Bugga. (Though he refused to tell them how he came by that name.)  
  
And at the great potion switch at the Zann Esu Towers that left the High Sorceress wearing a wig for a year.  
  
Finally, they turned in, one by one.  
  
First Natalie, who fell asleep by the campfire.  
  
Then, Tozam who was out like a light after claiming that he could go six days without sleep.  
  
Unfortunately, this left Cathim and Elric to share each others company.  
  
"I am not going to sleep with you around, Elric. Sorry, but i still don't completely trust you."  
  
"Fine, you keep watch." Elric said, lying back on the rocky ground. "Say, you wouldn't happen to be carrying a blanket and a pillow, would you?"  
  
"Why would we burden ourselves like that?"  
  
"Why did you set up a tent that nobody's going to sleep in?"  
  
Cathim had no retaliation for that, so he bid Elric goodnight and watched the half-demon fall asleep.  
  
'Not really all that bad of a person, Cathim.' The necromancer thought to himself, as he yawned and rubbed his eyes. 'Was it just that black demon you were afraid of? Or was it this 'Elric'? Little Bugga trust him enough to fall asleep, which is very strange for a barbarian tribesmen. Normally they don't trust anyone. And Natalie, she acts as though she has found a long lost treasure...'  
  
Cathim closed his eyes, just for a moment to rest them.  
  
'If he was able to tear so many Fallen to pieces so quickly, then he could have destroyed us just as well. And would have if not for Natalie. Wait, I know. I'll give him a couple of days to prove himself to us. After all, Tozam is right.'  
  
Then he yawned and said out loud,  
  
"What do...we have to lose...but our lives...?"  
  
And Cathim the Necromancer fell asleep to the sound of the small campfire.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
FLASH  
  
"Where am I?"  
  
FLASH  
  
A great figure cloaked in light and power stood before Elric the half-demon in the strange place. Of all the horrors and monstrosities that he had witnessed before, this shining warrior filled him with the most fear.  
  
An Arch-Angel...  
  
"Fool!" It called him   
  
"Leave me in peace, Knight of Seraphim" Elric commanded, turning his scaled back to the Seraphim, "I have done nothing that concerns your kind. My task has been done. I owe nothing more to you or to anybody other than myself."  
  
"Then what to your sister, Halfling?"  
  
"Leave her out of this, Tyrael!"  
  
"Have you lost your senses, Halfling? Do you not see that you have put them all in danger?"  
  
"I AM NOT GOING TO HURT THEM, TYRAEL! Just like I didn't harm Alisa, Vajiha, or Kalin. Your prophecies fall on deaf ears, and I won't lose anymore sleep over them. I CONTROL MY OWN DESTINEY! AND NOT THE BURNING HELLS OR THE HIGH HEAVENS WILL TURN ME AGAINST MY FRIENDS!!!"  
  
"Do not be so blind, Halfling. Wake up, and find what you have lead them into."  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
"Wake up..."  
  
Elric jerked awake and flipped over on the ground. He was out of breath and cold because the fire had gone out, but other than that he seemed alright.  
  
Then he realized that was lying in a pool of false red blood and torn flesh. He had torn out of his disguise and reverted back to demonic form while he had been dreaming.  
  
"Damn," he said silently, flexing four claws on one hand "I haven't done that in a long time."  
  
Elric was glad to see that Cathim had fallen asleep, likely before he had turned, and after checking to make sure Natalie and Tozam were alright, looked out of the mouth of the cave.  
  
Judging by the moon, he had been asleep for at least four hours.  
  
"Damn, was that a dream or am I going to have to deal with that bloody angel again?"   
  
The thought of the Seraphim made him shiver. At least with demons, you knew that their goal was destruction. But those damn angles never let on to what they wanted with mortal life. They claimed to wish only to protect sanctuary, but from Elric's personal experience, they tended to do more harm than good.  
  
He took a deep breath of the cold, crisp, autumn air and yawned, completely intending to return to sleep.  
  
Then, he stopped.  
  
"Sniff...sniff...sniff..."  
  
There was something in the air that he had missed before. Something that must have been too faint for him to smell over the fire smoke or in his worry for Natalie before the fire was built.  
  
In the air was the faint, but distinct scent of leather, burning hair, and rotting meat.  
  
"Wendigo, Fallen Ones, and Zombies!" He said out loud, "In the cave."  
  
It was then, smelling the foul beast within, that Elric realized what the Arch-Angle had been trying to warn him of.  
  
The good news was that Tozam, Cathim, and Natalie had found the Den of Evil that they were searching for.  
  
The bad news was that Elric had led them into it and let them set up camp right inside.   
  
*****************************************************************************  
  
Long: yes  
  
A lot of detail: I hope ya'll think so.  
  
Readers: Not as many as I would hope.   
  
It is now 3/20/03, and I still haven't gotten any post for chapter three :(  
  
Maybe I'm not giving it enough time, but i really enjoy getting reviews so pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease R&R.  
  
A little note for those of you who might not know, The Seraphim is a proper name for the angles of the Diablo world and they rule the High Heavens.  
  
Just though ya might wanna know.  
  
Well, I guess I'll post this for free now, but i refuse to post again until i get at least 12 total reviews for this story, signed or not, it doesn't matter.  
  
Also, to those of you who have reviewed, I have taken the liberty of sending comments back to you about it but I'm not sure that they got to you. So if you want to hear from me on your comments, let me know if the first e-mail didn't make it.  
  
Well, as i like to say...  
  
Come one, come all, come often, Always R&R... I will be updating soon.  
  
Signed... Robin 


	5. Chapter 4: Blood is fun and tasty

Diablo II: The Epic Behind the Game  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo II, I, or anything else that blizzard created. In fact, some of my dialogue comes directly from the game, for accuracy purposes only. The Characters however are of my own design, directly from my chars on Battle. Net  
  
Whoa... That was quick. In less than a day after posting chapter 3, I went over 12 reviews, which I required before my next post. Hurrah for people who know what they like, LOL. Anyways, sorry for the wait. And I apologize for it, but the people at my current place of education decided to start making it difficult for me and drained all of the time from my schedule. (Curse the administration of N. Georgia public high schools... ARRGGHHH)   
  
Oh Well, as promised, here is chapter 4. All typed up and posted for your reading pleasure. Be advised that this chapter contains vast amounts of blood and violence (damn those guys seem to be favorites in any and all places) so don't bash me too much if you are offended by violence and read anyways. However, if you are in the other 99.9% of the population that enjoys this stuff, then pull up a chair and prepared to be dazed... (errr, i mean 'amazed')  
  
So without further adieu.   
  
Enjoy  
  
The Den of Evil   
  
*******************************************************************************  
  
"Tozam. Wake up." Elric shook the large barbarian in a vain attempt to rouse the sleeping warrior while being quiet enough to not wake Cathim and Natalie.  
  
Tozam snorted and began to talk in his sleep.  
  
"Not now, Mama. I got to get some sleep before I to school."   
  
"I'm not your mother, Tozam, and... wait, you went to school?"  
  
"Come on, mama. Just five more hours."  
  
"Oh, gods. We don't have time for this. "Elric shook his head. "Tozam, the world is about to end, we are in danger. Grade school is not what you need to be worried about right now." Elric struggled to keep his voice at a whisper but still couldn't control some of the growl in his voice.  
  
"Danger..." Tozam smiled in his sleep, as he turned over on his side. "I laugh in the face of danger." Tozam let out a small chuckle that made Elric jump and turn his head from side to side to check and make sure that Cathim and Natalie were still sound asleep.  
  
Thankfully, they were.  
  
"Good thing I found them." Elric said to himself as he rolled his eyes, "As heavy as everybody sleeps, they could have been torn to shreds fifty times over by now and never wake up."  
  
A bit frustrated, Elric decided to toss caution to the wind in order to wake the snoring barbarian. Slowly, he lowered his teeth down to Tozam's ear and let a low key growl rumble though his throat and over his tongue.  
  
"Gggggrrrrrrrrr"  
  
As Elric had expected, Tozam's eyes snapped open.  
  
Unfortunately, he had not expected Tozam to act so fast when he woke up to a large demon leaning over him.  
  
Quicker than Elric could have predicted the human to move, Tozam's drew his long sword and used it to force Elric away, holding it only a hair away from Elric's throat.  
  
"Whoa! Hold on!" Elric let out quickly, doing his best to keep the blade away with his claw (which was a rather difficult task in itself). He knew that his scales were tough, but he didn't want to test and see if the ones around his neck were thicker than Tozam's sword was sharp.   
  
"Tozam! It's ME, Elric! Put that bloody thing down!"  
  
"Wha...Huh...?" Tozam shook his head, trying to get the sleep out of his eyes. "Elric? What the hell do you think you're doing, waking me up like that? Do you have some sort of death wish?"   
  
Tozam lowered the sword and Elric let out a tense breath and tried to force his muscles to relax.   
  
"And weren't you human when we were all talking. Why are you green?"   
  
"Huh?" Elric looked down at himself and realized that his upper body was still a forest green and his legs and tail were a dark brown from when he had changed his colors earlier.  
  
Without a second thought, Elric tugged at a bit of the magic within himself and changed his scales back to their regular black.  
  
"That's better." He said before answering Tozam's other question "Yeah, I was human before, but I had a little accident while I was sleeping. Don't ask!" Elric said quickly, hoping that he wouldn't have to explain too much to the barbarian. He had hated the fact that he had to woken Tozam up in the first place, but he couldn't very well do as he was planning and leave Natalie and others hanging without any protection.  
  
"Hey, I got a question for you. What was the place that you guys were looking for? You know, before I had to rescue you from sure destruction and completely saved your lives?"   
  
"Alright, no need to rub it in." Tozam said sounding hurt. He didn't like having to say 'Thank you' more than once and he wasn't about to stay indebt to this demon, regardless of what he had done for them before. "Why do you want to know?"  
  
"Oh, I was just wondering if it was something that I should be aware of."  
  
"Well, we were looking for someplace called the Den of Evil."  
  
"Was it supposed to have any sort of markings or anything like, let's just say for the sake of argument, an enormous painting of a fallen demon's skull above the opening?"  
  
"Uhhh, I think that was exactly what we were supposed to be looking for as a matter of fact. Why?"  
  
"Oh blood and ashes..." Elric chuckled nervously, "Well, you're gonna laugh about this in the morning, I tell ya..."  
  
"What is it, Half-demon?" Tozam asked, his sleepiness gone and his usual impatient presence in his tone. "We haven't got all night and I would like to get some more sleep before we go hunting for that blasted cave."  
  
"Oh, that's not going to be necessary..."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
Elric snorted a short reply and uttered a short demon's curse under his breath. He should have woken up one of the others; at least they could have caught on quicker. "Two words for you, barbarian, Thick-headed." He turned around and leaped over the burnt out fire, putting him just outside the mouth of the cave. "Just come over here and look up."  
  
Tozam did as he was told and a shocked expression came over his face when he made out the white skull over the arch of the cave.   
  
"Oh..."  
  
Tozam's eyes fell down to Elric and his hand went uneasily to his sword. "Is this some kind of betrayal? Cause if it is, then I gotta wake up Cathim and Natalie so that we can skin your scaly hide."  
  
"Don't flatter yourselves!" Elric said in retaliation to the warrior's accusation. "This was just a really bad coincidence. I wouldn't have led you guys here if I knew it would be dangerous, but I couldn't smell the stuff in the cave because I was upwind of the fire and I was worried about Natalie before that."  
  
"Well, at least now we can do what we came here to do and then get back to the encampment. I'll wake the others if you want to put away camp."  
  
"No."  
  
Tozam looked back at the half demon with a questioning glance. "No what? What is it now?"  
  
"Listen, you guys can't handle yourselves. You couldn't even deal with those fallen back on the plains, so what makes you think that you can beat these things in a place which has little lighting, less air, and the demons happen to call it home? No, I will deal with the Den of Evil; I should do at least that much for you after leading you here." Elric said in a frantic whisper as he wanted to say it before Tozam could question his motives.  
  
"What do you mean we can't handle ourselves?" Tozam asked as he finished working out what Elric had said in the first sentence.   
  
Elric groaned  
  
"Look, just want you to watch the others and make sure that nothing sneaks up on you guys and eats you, EXPECIALLY NOT NATALIE! That is why I woke you."  
  
"Why me and not the others?"  
  
"Because Natalie would want to come with me and Cathim wouldn't leave me alone if he found out I led you guys' right to the mouth of a place so dangerous it was called 'The Den of Evil'. I mean, he would keep on me with that evil demon stuff until I would have to eat him just to shut him up, and i don't want to do that!" He thought for a moment, then added as an afterthought, "Not until breakfast time anyways."  
  
"Fine, then. Go!" Tozam said after a minute of hard pressed thought, "I mean, we do need BIG STRONG ELRIC to protect us because, hey, we're not warriors or crusaders or anything. WE don't know how to fight. And WE aren't the ones who have a duty to clear out this cave. No, you go ahead, BRAVE ELRIC, and save us poor, pitiful peasants the trauma of glorious battle with the most dastardly of monsters."  
  
"Thanks, it is nice that you see where I'm coming from." Elric said, as he crouched onto his back legs and, after wiggling around a bit like a cat, pounced over the dead fire ring and his sleeping companions. He landed on his claws, light as a feather, and started right away to move deeper into the cavern.  
  
"THAT WAS SARCASM HALF-DEMON!!!" A flustered Tozam called after him.  
  
******************************************************************************  
  
The darkness was all around.  
  
The darkness beaconed the hunter to come out. It was cold and certain. It was the shadow, the home of the killer. The place where evil made its base, and the fort from which it often attacked.   
  
It was the thrill of the hunt and the pulse of life which drove him. The fact that, in just a few minutes, he could be holding the delicate life of another creature in his claws and choose to spare it or snuff it out at his will. An ecstasy that few others could ever know. It was a power that was now his own.   
  
The power of death was intoxicating, and the demon was more than ready to get drunk on it. To bathe and drink the blood of its victims. To take down both the weak and the strong in battle and prey upon those foolish enough to resist.  
  
That was what the demon mind wanted more than anything. For the bloodbath to begin in a blind and filling rage.  
  
And then there was the human mind which kept interfering with it.  
  
*Alright, lets see it we can sneak up on these things and get the drop on them, that way, the battle will be over quickly and we can move on to the next bunch of monsters.* The human side thought.  
  
*No!* His inner demon challenged, *Let us charge in, teeth bared and claws ripping...Tearing. No let's stick to ripping.*  
  
"Shut up, both of you!" Elric said quickly under his breath. He had a job to do and he didn't need both sides of his instinctive heritage to fight over how best to do the job. HE would decide, not his instinct.   
  
That had always been his biggest problem, keeping the demon under control. But now, he knew that it would be vital to let the demon go and put the guard up on his human mind. To keep it from becoming too bloodstained. That was how he had always worked it. In three parts.  
  
The Hunter  
  
The Thinker  
  
And the Real Elric.  
  
Elric took a sniff of the air and determined that a small group of fallen must have been just a little way's away.   
  
Now was his time to let the demon loose. He felt the rage well up inside him, as he drew closer to where the fallen were. Closer until he could hear them.  
  
"Ann Wee will crush men world!" a deeper voice announced. It must have been a shaman, Elric thought.   
  
"Wee will crush them and take their power! Take their words and feed to hell fire the offspring! From this cave we shall come, and wipe the women with flying sticks from this world and make it ours!"   
  
A small feverous cheer came from what must have been about twenty or thirty of the smaller red warriors.   
  
"Soon as other clans come from Andariel's palace, then we have hundreds of warriors to make assault and take the women's camp!" Another cheer sounded, "Wee will have the women as our toys and the men as our meat!" Yet another, louder cheer.  
  
The other clans, Elric deduced, must have been all of the campsites he had been finding and cleaning out lately. And all of those Fallen that had attacked Natalie's party must have been heading for the cave when they were called off by that stupid barbarian's taunt. He finally came close enough to see the demons and (after confirming his first count of about 30) saw that they were in a smaller chamber that had only one entrance and exit. And he was hiding in it.  
  
'I couldn't ask for a better situation.' he thought, 'thirty is child's play though, maybe i should leave the shaman alive long enough to raise 'em up until they've each died twice or something... No, i can't forget that I have people depending on me here. I have to clear this cave ASAP.'  
  
The Fallen continued cheer and laugh as Elric finally decided on his course of action.  
  
'Here we go..." Elric thought as he pushed a sensitive spot on the top of his mouth with his tongue before laying it down flat in his mouth. Within a few moments, he felt the familiar, oozing liquid seep into his mouth until he felt that he had enough. Then, leaning out slightly from behind his hiding place, cocked his head back and shot the green acid gunk in a stream at the fallen shaman.   
  
"PAWTHA!"  
  
It was just by pure luck, of course, that he managed to hit the shaman right in the mouth.  
  
"GGGGGGAAAHHAaahhh..." The shaman screamed through the gunk until it finally managed to eat though his throat and the melting head fell to the ground.  
  
"Uhhh..." A fallen tilted its head in confusion, "Didd hee mean do that?"  
  
That was Elric's cue.   
  
Without waiting another moment or throwing out his usual battle roar, Elric leaped into the center of the mass of fallen warriors. Two or three had their heads crushed before he even hit the ground and after that, the demon was set loose. A fury of twisting red and flying limbs filled his mind and the human mind was put on hold (except to remind the demon not to move it's tongue and risk burning it off again).  
  
Death was his duty now. To tear through the flesh and bone. To relish the screams and pleas for mercy. To watch the crippled slowly bleed to death.   
  
Blood was his water now.  
  
The freshly ripped flesh of the kill was his meat to eat.  
  
They were his, completely from their brain to the last drop of blood.  
  
And then they were gone.  
  
The demon stood alone in the center of the small cavern chamber with the bodies of what were once it's prey lying about like discarded scraps. Lifeless and without the once powerful spark that the mortals would call life.  
  
  
  
'Damn them!' The demon thought, spitting what was left of the acid in his mouth into the blank frozen eyes of a dead fallen. 'Dieing so quickly! Damn them, they should have lasted longer!'   
  
There had to be more to this battle. More to satisfy this run of the bloodlust.  
  
"But there is more." Elric reasserted his control over the demon, soothing it with his promising voice. "There are many more beasts in this cave to gut and reign over."  
  
'Then enough with the waiting!' The demon retorted, 'Continue the hunt."  
  
********************************************************************************  
  
The hunt continued for how long? Elric didn't want to think. For all he knew, it could have been a day or an hour. Bu the demon was finally beginning to get bored with the constant devouring of flesh and the spilling of blood. Now it wanted to satisfy other hungers that he, Elric, was not about to let the beast indulge.  
  
"Another group of zombies around this corner." Elric said, hoping that he could keep the demon entertained long enough to get the job done.  
  
'Zombies... pah!'It responded, 'Black blood and rotten meat is all they are, no challenge at all.'  
  
'I beg to differ;' Elric's human mind started up, 'in large enough numbers, a horde of zombies could defeat us easily. So, if we find a way to kill them quickly enough that...'  
  
'SHUT UP!' The Demon roared though Elric's mind, trying to silence the babbling human presence which stood in the way of its meal. 'We no need fool to waste time...Point out our prey.'  
  
Elric took a moment to sigh.  
  
"I wonder if NORMAL people have to deal with this kind of thing or if it's just me."  
  
'No matter... KILL NOW!' The demon took back over and threw it's head back in a roar before barreling around the corner and into a group of no more than six badly decayed zombies. The heads rolled (literally) and the bags of useless flesh were expertly carved into smaller bits by Elric's tail.  
  
'That one in half, this one in fourths, and that one gets cut into 20cm by 15cm cubes.'  
  
'Stay out of this, human!'   
  
"Both of you calm down!" Elric asserted his dominance in a loud voice that echoes through the cavern.   
  
'Well, there goes our element of surprise.'  
  
'We no need surprise, we tear, we kill, we destroy without surprise...'  
  
"Why me..." Elric said.   
  
'Well,' He thought, 'there can't be that many monsters left in this cave.'   
  
Soon it would be time to put the demon and the thinker away until they were needed again. Then he could go back out and sleep until morning.  
  
"Sniff, sniff"   
  
The stench of the rotted corpse at his clawed feet and the wondrous smell of fresher blood from his earlier kills were too thick in the air to make heads or tails of what was before him.  
  
"Okay, one last rush should do. Go right in and tear everything to pieces."  
  
'My kinda plan'  
  
Slowly, Elric edged his way around the corner. Silent as death he was when he had to be. And now, it would be the end. One last shot and he would have the cave clear. His heart beat frantically in his chest as all four of his legs quivered in anticipation.   
  
He was close enough now where he could hear the steps of some of the larger beast in down the corridor. It was too bad that he couldn't smell what they were.   
  
Now, he was close enough to see the opening at the end of the tunnel to make his leap.   
  
He would have to be swift as before. Tear it all down before the beast could figure out what he was.  
  
Now was as good a time as any, so he lunged forward, teeth bared back in a snarled as he got ready to release the demon.   
  
Then, in a moment of sheer disbelief, he fell out of the air, landing ungracefully on his belly. He pulled up his head and gazed wide eyed as all three of the working minds within him tried to figure out the impossible scene before them.  
  
"Dear gods..."  
  
*****************************************************************************  
  
I am so sososososososo sorry that I took sooooo long in the posting, but I was unfortunately delayed by people who don't understand why writing is SO much more important than (ugh) Algebra III. *evil music plays* AHHHHHHHH!!!!   
  
Actually, i should be doing my homework right now, but I just got a snazzy new laptop for a graduation present and I couldn't wait to test it out by posting this chapter online with it. Yeahhhhhh!   
  
Well, I guess I'm in luck, My birthday is this week(4/30th if ya wanna know) and I'm gonna be graduating next month (NO MORE SCHOOL!YIPPIE!) So soon, I'll have plenty of spare time to be writing.   
  
Okay, now, this chapter was mostly to see how Elric and his two sides of his personality would communicate with each other. I was sort of going for showing each of them as a different char, but I'm not sure whether i like it or not. Anyways, send any ideas or comments on this system when ya finish reading it.   
  
Also, thanks for all the reviews, if it weren't for them, I wouldn't have come back to continue my story. It was at 19 when i checked it about an hour ago, so I'm hoping for a few more before next chapter comes up. Not that I'm running a tally or anything :P. There isn't any sort of deadline or anything, so I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I get it finished.  
  
This is Robin saying...PEACE OUT!!!  
  
(Sorry, a little too much Rocket Power ^_^) 


	6. Chapter 5: The OverRated Outhouse

Diablo II: The Epic Behind the Game  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo II, I, or anything else that blizzard created. In fact, some of my dialogue comes directly from the game, for accuracy purposes only. The Characters however are of my own design, directly from my chars on Battle. Net  
  
Author stands on stage behind podium  
  
Ummm, Hello. My name is Robin Shirewood and about a year ago, I started to write a fan-fiction based on the popular PC game, Diablo Two. For the next month or so after I first posted the Prologue, I continued almost constantly to update until the middle of May last year. At that point, I graduated and suddenly became preoccupied with several projects, including College and every now and then a bit of adventure gaming. I also started on two projects that I hope to publish before the end of the year. However, these projects also took away time to continue posting for Elric's Online fans.  
  
Some of these fans, however, managed to contact and threaten...  
-sound of a shotgun cocks from behind the stage's curtain.-  
PERSUADED! PERSUADED me, to continue on with the story of Elric and the others. I have been touched, and on multiple occasions stabbed, by their concern for our heroes and the continuation of the tale. So for them, I continue.  
  
This revamping and continuation is dedicated to TenshiNoAkuma, Some-Boy (my first fan and commenter), Shani, dr, Solarious (Who threatened to poke needles in my eyes) and lastly, to Elric's biggest fan, Ramaon (Who tracked me down and is now holding a shotgun to my head with all of the love in her heart)   
  
For all of you: thanks.   
  
Now, after a far too long absence I present:   
  
Diablo: The Epic Behind the Game  
  
When we last left Elric...  
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"Dear Gods..."  
  
"Well, good morning Elric." Natalie said, sitting up and setting the gold that she had been counting aside. "It certainly took you long enough to get here."  
  
"I...I... How...???" Elric was speechless. There, in the large cavernous chamber, was Natalie, Cathim, and Tozam, each putting aside small piles of treasure and spoils that they must have gotten off of the many bodies of gargantuan and fallen ones that littered the floor. Slowly, Elric walked over to his sister, and, for the first time in a very, very long time, Elric was speechless.  
  
"Where the hell did you guys come from?!" He demanded once he found his voice.  
  
"That's no way to greet your sister, Elric." Tozam started.  
  
"Yeah, demon." Cathim called over to him as he jumped to his feet and set aside a crude looking wand that he must have found on a shaman. "Didn't you learn any manners while you were 'roughing it' out in the wilds for all that time."  
  
"Watch it, Necromancer!" Elric snarled, unsure whether to be angry with them or grateful that he had been wrong about how skilled they were. "Tozam, why didn't you do as I say and watch over them? I didn't want you guys to get involved in my mistake."  
  
"Easy, Elric." Natalie knelt down beside him and put her hand on the back of his neck. He didn't feel any less agitated, but he did stop snarling. "It's not your fault that we came here. I knew what this place was when we first arrived."  
  
"Yeah,"Cathim said, "And the last thing that we needed was some cocky, overly protective sibling/warrior/beast/thing taking up all of the experience and glory that we could get from this place. Not to mention the 'spoils' of the battle."  
  
"Too bad that most of the spoils are spoiled anyways. I swear, these monsters really need to learn how to make polish for their equipment." Tozam said as he tried desperately to scrape rust off of a long sword that he was hoping to use as a replacement for the one that he had broken on the Blood Moor. "Ugh, this will never do. These rust stains are the worst"  
  
"Most of these things have never even heard of soap, Little Bugga. What makes you think that they would have access to metal polish?" Cathim said, picking the wand back up and reading over some of the runes engraved into it.  
  
This was just a little too much for Elric.   
  
At first he had thought that he had met up with his sister and a couple of other novice warriors, yet here they were; Sitting among the corpse of fallen foes and chatting away as though they were untouched by the true horror of the scene at their feet.  
  
He didn't know whether to feel sorry or proud for them.  
  
"Well, uhhh..." He started sheepishly as Natalie turned back to sweep the coins into her pouch and pick up a new staff that she had found. "I guess that I was wrong."  
  
"Yes, you were very wrong." Natalie told him flatly. "Don't think that I spent the past fourteen years sitting on my arse, Elric. You may be surprised to discover that I am an actual sorceress."  
  
"Aye," Tozam looked up from his futile polishing, "If we plan on traveling together, then we need to learn to trust..."  
  
"Ahem!" Cathim interrupted.  
  
"Well, we at least need to get along and know that we can count on each other."  
  
"Okay." Elric cocked his head to the side, "But, who said that you guys were coming along with me and Natalie in the first place?"  
  
"She did." The two humans said in unison.  
  
"I did." Natalie confirmed when Elric's eyes washed over to her. Just as Elric was about to argue with his sister about the danger of keeping the two humans anywhere within a hundred leagues of him, Natalie sat down on a boulder beside him and started to stroke her hand down his scales and pet him as she had so many years before when he had been much, MUCH, smaller. Feeling the long forgotten, and very pleasant, caress of Natalie's soft, gentle hands after so many years, Elric suddenly lost the will to argue his point and felt his irritation lift as he abandoned himself to her soft touch.  
  
"As it turns out, we work rather well together. Although I don't much care for Cathim's way of magic, it does tend to be useful when he pulls off one of those curses. And Tozam proved long ago that he had the heart and the strength of a great warrior."  
  
"Yeah!" Tozam nodded with a proud enthusiasm.  
  
"Now," Cathim interrupted, "If only he had the brains of one."  
  
"Yea... Hey!"   
  
"And, my dear brother," Natalie continued, "How often is it that you can find two such fine people who can accept having one of your... unique... situation."  
  
"Well," Elric started, resisting the urge to lay his head in Natalie's lap and start purring, "I guess not a lot of warriors want to have a halfling in the party. And that was one of the reasons that I thought that the two of us would be going off on our own way after this was over. But, if you guys want to tag along..."   
  
"Safety in number." Tozam said thoughtfully, "It would be suicide to try and go questing alone in these dark times and it helps to know that there are still adventurers who pay more attention to what is the right thing to do rather than what will make his purse fatter."  
  
"Not only that, Elric." Cathim smiled as sly smile. "But I also want to keep an eye on you and make sure that you don't try to take over the world or torture lost souls or any of that 'demon' garbage."  
  
"Alright, Cathim." Elric retorted playfully, enjoying his head and neck rub far too much to be insulted. "And while you're at it, you can watch and make sure that I floss between all of my pointed little teeth and say all of my twisted evil prayers."   
  
"Well." Natalie stopped petting Elric and put her hands together as she stood up. Though Elric didn't like the fact that his petting had stopped, he couldn't help but think of how commanding and intelligent Natalie looked as she stood there and faced the three of them. "Here we are then. An initiate sorceress, a barbarian warrior, a death priest, and my dear baby brother." Her face broke into a smile. "I'm sure that the rogues will have no choice but to trust us now."  
  
"In any case," Tozam started, taking one last look at the lost cause he was trying to clean and then throwing it into a heap on the ground. "This cavern has been cleansed, so we may continue on and return to the rouges encampment to stock up on supplies."  
  
"And, while we're at it," Elric started, getting up on all fours. "Will somebody give me a mana potion and tell me what is going on?"  
  
---------------------------------------  
  
"No doubt you've heard of the tragedy that befell the town of Tristram."  
  
"You have no idea." Elric said with a knowing smile on his now human face.  
  
"Actually, I've heard quite a few tales about it." Tozam started up again, growing bored with watching the surrounding blood moor for dangers. "As I understand it, after the Black King went mad and the prince went missing, The Lord of Terror, Diablo, turned up in the tower outside of the town and started to prey on the village. After a buncha guys got slaughtered, a group of mortal heroes went down and beat the demon to a bloody pulp." He smiled; felling proud that he had been able to keep the tale in order.  
  
"This has been yet another 'in depth' report by our little Bugga." Cathim rolled his eyes mockingly at the over eager warrior. "Tune in next time for 'The Mage War in a nutshell.' Presented by the master of the short, short version of stories, Tozam."  
  
"In all actuality," Natalie giggled while the barbarian pushed the necromancer playfully (nearly tossing him off of the road). "Diablo had been in the tower for some time, and it is believed that it was the Prime Evil who drove King Leoric to madness and enslaved the mind of the Arch-Bishop Lazarus."  
  
"Trust me." Elric frowned, speaking almost to himself. "Lazarus didn't need to be enslaved, he was eager enough for the work that Terror had in mind for him."  
  
"And, after dozens of would-be saviors fell against the legions of the monastery, a trio of warriors managed to delve to the depths of the labyrinth and defeat the Prime Evil."  
  
"Well, that's about right... WHAT!" Elric reeled in shock. "TRIO!"   
  
"Yes," Cathim nodded, spinning his new wand in his fingers, "A vizjerei, a rogue of the Sightless Eye, and a warrior of Khanduras I believe."   
  
"Is that so..." Elric shook his head, wondering why he was surprised to hear that there was no fourth warrior who faced the Monastery. "If I ever get my claws on that bloody minstrel...Yeah, I've heard this story before. Heroes came in and whipped up on Diablo, blah-blah-blah, heroes-be-praised, and the people of Tristram live happy ever after. The End."  
  
"If only, Elric." Natalie shook her head.  
  
"What? What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, you see, shortly after the heroes left the town, the demons returned and ravaged Tristram to the bone. The monastery may have fallen, but the evil that dwelled within did not die as the hero's believed. To my knowledge, there were no survivors."  
  
"What..." Elric was speechless.  
  
Everything that he thought that he and his friends had accomplished.   
  
Everything that he had fought for under the unhallowed grounds of Tristram.   
  
All of it had been in vain.   
  
He hadn't really been able to save anyone. He had only bought them a little time.  
  
"I... I had no idea..."   
  
"It get's worse Elric." Cathim said, still examining the bone wand that he had found in the den of evil.   
  
"Worse? How can it get any worse?"  
  
"The evil is spreading."  
  
"That's right." Tozam nodded grief apparent in his body language. "After Tristram fell, it's been like a plague spreading throughout the Western Kingdoms. Then, about three months ago, a large faction of the Sisters of the Sightless Eye went mad and slaughtered their untainted sisters. The battle raged until the true rouges were driven from their homes. Now, they say that the Doors to the East and the only way though the Rogue Pass is held under the power of the Maiden of Anguish."  
  
"The Maiden of Anguish..." Elric repeated, trying to recollect where he had read that name before. The answer did not surprise him in the least bit.  
  
"Andariel! The Bitch Queen! Here in the mortal plains? What's she doing here? Andariel and the other lesser evils are..." Elric stopped, seeing that his three companions were giving him curious looks.  
  
"The other lesser evils are what, Elric?" Natalie asked.  
  
"Do you know something about all this, Halfling?" Cathim inquired seriously.  
  
"I only know what I've been taught." Elric answered. "The four lesser evils have had the Hells locked in a civil war since the days before the Mage Wars, when the Prime Evils ravaged the world."  
  
"Well, something's changed for the worse." Natalie nodded, "Andariel controls the passage west, and the rouges have been forced into an encampment a bit further east of here. All caravans and travelers have been forced there, or torn apart in the wilderness by the tainted sisters."  
  
"WAIT! This makes no sense." Elric stopped and pondered for a moment, "With Diablo dead, they shouldn't have anything to hold on to, no center command, and no organization. Andariel wouldn't have any reason to come to the human world!"  
  
"That is not so, Elric..." Tozam said softly, "It is speculated that the Lord of Terror did not fall Tristram as believed."   
  
"WHAT!!!????" Elric's eyes slipped into glowing red as his anger and frustration at this news grew darker. "I KNOW FOR A FACT..."  
  
"We can't know anything for certain, Elric!" Natalie interrupted, hoping to calm the tense demon. "That is why we accepted this quest to rid the land of the creatures massing in the Den of Evil. The High Priestess of the Rogues, Akara, agreed that we could get the rogues full cooperation and they would tell us what they have learned if we helped destroy the threat to their encampment. They don't have enough warriors left to do more than defend the small encampment from normal dangers. And if even a legion that small had attempted to attack en masse, they would have stood almost no chance."  
  
"There it is." Cathim stopped, pointing further down the trail to the east.   
  
Elric looked up, the red dropping from his eyes as anger was replaced with surprise.  
  
"That's it?" Elric started, looking at the crudely made wall of sharpened logs and weak plaster. "That's the rogue's encampment?"  
  
"'Afraid so." Tozam answered sadly.   
  
Not another word was spoken between them as they approached, nor was any real noise made at all until they stood before the twigs and mortar that the rogues were calling 'a gate'.   
  
"Gods, I've faced breezes that would put up more resistance than this sorry excuse for a door." Elric commented quietly before he was even aware that the others were standing completely still.  
  
At about this time, Elric realized that there were about two dozen arrows trained on the small group.  
  
"Ohhhh..."  
  
"HOLD YOUR FOOTING AND MAKE YOURSELF KNOWN!!" A loud, demanding, feminine voice called out from the top of the makeshift fence. The demand sounded more full of bluster than of threat to the half-demon, who couldn't keep out of his mind the idea that he could quickly and efficiently bowl over this meager welcoming committee by himself. Still, he held himself in check as Natalie took a cautious and deliberate step forward.   
  
"I am Natthilea Tasslewind of Zann Esu." She announced. "My party has returned from the mission given us by Akara. And we now, humblely, request entry."   
  
A moment of silence passed, with Elric only barely able to make out a slight murmur from behind the gate. Apparently, Natalie's request had been enough, for only a few moments later, it opened wide and allowed the party within the wooden walls of the Rogue Encampment.   
  
Their march into the encampment was short, as they were halted once on the other side, and the doors closed behind them.  
  
"Hold your place and keep your hands in the open." The commanding feminine voice came again. Now, they could see the speaker as a deceptively young red-headed rogue wearing a heavy mantle of dignity that she took in stride.  
  
"Battle-Eagle Kashya." Natalie gave a slight bow before this woman. "We thank you for allowing our entry."  
  
'Battle-Eagle?' Elric thought. This young woman was a Battle-Eagle? The Sisters of the Sightless Eye had a rigid hierarchy in their militia, and the Battle-Eagle was considered to be the commander-in-chief of the rogues in wartime.   
  
So, this was their military leader.  
  
She couldn't even be out of her twenties yet.  
  
"You should feel grateful indeed that we allowed this... party... of yours to enter our glorious little hovel." Kashya nodded a sour grimace on her face. "I find it strange though. The few groups that come back from the Blood Moor usually lose members of their group, not gain them." The Battle-Eagle threw a sideway glance to Elric.  
  
"We come bearing news for your leader, Akara." Tozam stated, undaunted by the impressive display of bravado by Kashya. "And you would do well not to hinder us."  
  
Kashya, likewise, was not intimidated by the barbarian's large size and wasted no time to get up in Tozam's face.  
  
"Know this, outsider worm!" She hissed, "Akara MAY be our spiritual leader, But I command the rogues in battle."  
  
"We do not question that," Natalie stepped in, "We merely need to report our successful mission to Akara."  
  
"'Successful'?" Kiyasa turned her attention to Natalie. "Don't try to inflate a single, minor victory into a heroic standing for me, sorceress. I have enough on my mind without adding such dung to my attention. It will take more than slaying a few beasts in the wilderness to earn my trust."  
  
"Then we won't take any more of your time, Battle-Eagle." Elric interjected swiftly, taking his sister's arm quickly pulling her aside before she could talk back.  
  
"I...I Never..."  
  
"Not the time, Natalie. Nor is it the place." Elric whispered, "Let's just do what we came to do and go. Alright?"  
  
It took a moment before Natalie saw the truth to Elric's argument, but in the end, she nodded apologized to the battle-eagle, who then marched off with her armed archer escort, muttering about how she had an outhouse to defend.  
  
"Hmmm, pleasant sort isn't she?" Cathim sighed, "The arrogance, the firm discipline. Why, she's simply aglow with the all the love of rabid crocodile."  
  
"She still has a pulse though, Cathim. And I think that in itself puts her WELL out of your league." Tozam joked, clapping the necromancer heartedly on the back and easily knocking the frail priest to the ground.  
  
This, at least, got a laugh out of Elric and lightened the overall mood of the party.  
  
"I'm off to seek Akara and report our victory." Natalie announced, "Are any of you coming?"  
  
"Ummm, I think I need to take Cathim to see a healer." Tozam observed, "Sorry, buddy, I didn't mean to clap you so hard."  
  
The high levels of profanities that came from the crumpled pile of flesh that had moments before been the necromancer has been tastefully omitted from this tale.  
  
"And after that, I need to go and find a replacement for my swords at the local shop."  
  
"I'll stick with you, Natalie." Elric stated, "Besides, I need to see if this 'Akara' can help me find a friend."  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Dear gods!!!" The caravan's healer proclaimed, making the holy sign of his faith. "This man looks as though his collar bone has been shattered, both shoulders have been dislocated, and every one of his ribs has been pushed outward to leave their impression in the underlying flesh of his torso!!! WHAT SORT OF MONSTER DID THIS AND DIDN"T EVEN HAVE THE HEART TO MERCIFULLY LET THIS MAN DIE?!"  
  
"Ummmmm, so, can you fix him?" Tozam asked sheepishly.  
  
"Of course I can fix him, it's just that I've never had heal a living corpse before."  
  
"#$&#$&#&#&$#&&%#&#($#&&#$&#$&&#%&#$&#&$&%&#$#&$&#$&#$#&$&$##$!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
"Uh, doc? What sort of bizarre language is that that he's shouting at me?"  
  
"I'm not positive, but I do believe that your skinny friend here, despite the immense pain it is causing him, has just managed to gargle out every profanity in every language he knows in one sentence."  
  
"Oh, Whew," Tozam breathed a sigh of relief, "For a moment, I thought that he was mad at me."  
  
"I can have your friend here fixed up in about an hour or so, but he will be sore for a few days. Now, about my fee..."  
  
"Oh, no problem. After all, what are friends for, right buddy?" Tozam smiled wide as he kneeled down and started to loosen Cathim's money pouch from his belt.  
  
"&#&$%&#&%$&#%$%&#$%#$&#$(#$&%&#$&#$&#$"  
  
"I know brother, you feel sorry for taking advantage of me after that nasty fall you took down the gorge, but it's the least I can do for my bestest friend in the whole of Sanctuary." Tozam turned to the doctor, "You do accept gold, right?"  
  
"&#%$&#$&%&#$%&%!%#%%!&#&%#%" Cathim said before passing out from pain.  
  
"Say, while you're fixing him up, can you do something that will make him forget about this?"  
  
"It'll cost extra."  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Ahhhh, an hour until Cathim recovers and me with Cathim's mostly empty purse and my own really fat, bulging purse of gold and small gems. Now, what am I going to do to pass time in this stronghold of traders and merchants before I go out again with little to no hope of possibly returning to discredit a con-artist?" Tozam asked himself loudly as he strolled down the west wall where the caravan's under the protection of the Sisterhood were stationed.  
  
"GOOD-Day to you, Partner!" A slick and oiled looking merchant wearing a turban and a smile called out.  
  
"Hmmm, who, me?"   
  
"Yes you, come on over here. Have I got a deal for you. You see, I'm Gheed, and I can already tell that I'll be your best friend in this forsaken camp."  
  
"Uh, sorry, that position is already filled. My best friend is in the hospice with a broken something or other and two other dislocated things."  
  
"Uhhhh, well, anyways..." Gheed looked the large, heavily muscled barbarian over again and though it wise to not con this dangerous looking man TOO much.  
  
"I have a revolutionary form of shopping that I will allow for you, my friend. You see, I have many magical weapons and potions that have come from all over the world and I would be more than happy to let you take some of them off my hands."  
  
Almost half an hour and more than two hundred gold coins later, a happy Tozam walked away from Gheed's tent with two half rusted looking long swords.  
  
'Hmmm, a sucker born every minute.' Gheed thought, counting the coins he had just acquired. 'Take a couple of rusty looking swords out from a wizard's garbage can and you can make a small fortune. That fool must have taken a week of suckers to be born.'  
  
Gheed thought himself a genius. Two hundred gold for two worthless looking swords with the word 'Blood-Letter' on each of them. What kind of fool would trust a name to show the effectiveness of a weapon?  
  
------------------------Meanwhile-  
  
Natalie and Elric were approaching Akara's tent when a very particular stone tablet half-buried in the ground caught the half-demon's eye.  
  
"A Way Stone!"  
  
"A what?" Natalie asked.  
  
"Way Stone." Elric explained, "During the Mage Wars, the Horadrim constructed them to teleport troops all over the world. All you need is a scroll of paper and Way Ink to draw the insignia here and you can zap back to this stone whenever you want. Or, if you find other stones, you can travel back and forth between them instantly."  
  
"What? How come I've never heard of them?"  
  
"Because the secret to the Way Stones has been lost since the Mage Wars. Now, only a few sages across Sanctuary know about them. I learned about them in Tri..." Elric broke off, berating himself for letting his excitement over this discovery loosen his tongue.  
  
"Interesting... Very. I'll have to come back and write that down. Now, On to Akara's tent."  
  
Natalie agreed, and then the two continued on to their destination before they finally approached the tent of the spiritual leader of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye. Marking the boundaries of high priestess was a low half-wall at which Elric stopped suddenly.  
  
"Elric, what's wrong?"  
  
Despite a sudden, ill look, Elric looked up and smiled.   
  
"It's nothing, Natalie." He said, taking a hesitant step past the half wall and then falling back into a steady walk.  
  
The two siblings found Akara, a tall, gentle featured woman wearing a long purple robe and hood, kneeling at a makeshift alter featuring a relic of the legendary Sightless Eye, the philosophical stone of the Sisterhood's Religion. She was praying, Elric guessed, for they could hear her soft murmuring as she counted her prayers on beads.  
  
Natalie approached her cautiously.  
  
"Priestess Akara? I'm sorry to disturb you, but..."   
  
"No problem at all, young sorceress." Akara answered, her age and experience suddenly made apparent by the melody of her voice. "Indeed, it brings me great joy to hear your voice again." Akara opened her eyes for the first time and turned around to see Natalie.  
  
"I have already heard of your success. You have my thanks and support of the rogues. But, enough of the niceties. What can I do to help..."  
  
Akara faltered as her eyes slid over Elric and lost their luster as she looked over the green-eyed human. Her smile likewise vanished.  
  
"You would dare to desecrate this hallowed ground?" She asked her voice suddenly dangerous.  
  
"Uhhh, I...I'm not quite sure what you're talking about." Elric smiled, shrugging coyly.  
  
"Oh, no?" Akara looked downward.  
  
Elric followed her gaze down to a simple stump where he was absently resting his human hand. He also saw Akara bringing around the hand which held the prayer beads that he had noticed her holding before.  
  
What he hadn't noticed was that the beads were made of alchemical silver.  
  
Demon's-Bane!  
  
Startled, Elric pulled his hand back immediately and was unable to hold back a sight, animalistic yelp.  
  
"Okay..." Elric took several steps back, still fighting back the nausea that had been threatening to overwhelm him since the moment he had passed the boundaries of this miniature sanctuary. "Maybe I do."  
  
"Do you realize what this thing that follows you is?" Akara brandished the prayer beads menacingly at Elric while diverting her attention to Natalie again.  
  
"Akara, please." Natalie took hold of Akara's wrist and gently lowered the elder woman's arm down before turning back to her brother. "Elric, please. Go. Akara, I'll explain everything. Please."  
  
"I'll listen, to you only child." She said to Natalie, turning her attention back to the half-demon. "You, on the other hand. I will be keeping a close eye on."  
  
With that, Akara motioned Natalie into the small tent that had become her home while Elric quickly, and without remorse, moved off of the hallowed ground and promptly vomited.  
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And so the story continues.   
I will be striving to update every Friday, but please understand if I happen to miss a deadline by a few days.  
  
Next week: The Amazon & the Paladin  
Tozam gets to show off his muscles for the rogue's blacksmith. Cathim recovers from his 'attack' to realize that he has been robbed. And Elric gets into a high tension religious debate with a paladin...bring bandages. Don't worry, the story will also move on.  
  
Now, would somebody please be kind enough to remove the needles that Solarious jabbed into my back. ., They hurt very very badly.  
(Revamped on Tuesday May 11th to address several spelling and content related errors)  
And don't forget to R&R always.  
  
Until next week. This is Robin Shirewood, the wayward fan-fiction author, signing off.


	7. Chapter 6: Meetings, Threats, Lunch

Diablo II: The Epic Behind the Game  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo II, I, or anything else that blizzard created. In fact, some of my dialogue comes directly from the game, for accuracy purposes only. The Characters however are of my own design, directly from my chars on Battle.net  
  
During the American Civil War, General Sherman (best known for burning Atlanta, Georgia) once said, "War is hell."  
This man was obviously not a writer lacking criticism, for that is truly hell.  
  
I may just be impatient, but I there is something that I simply love to do.   
  
Read Reviews. Please give me something to read. (Robin unsheathes katana) I simply don't know what I'll do with myself if you don't....  
  
Oh, Well, enough of that...  
  
We return to our story shortly after Elric has relieved himself of his midnight snack and breakfast.  
  
Rogue Encampment:  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"Well, you see my dear Charsi..." Tozam put his head in his hand, knowingly flexing every muscle in his arm at the same time. "The really, really big ones come from from three things, Two of which you surely know very well."  
  
"Oh really?" Charsi, the rogue's resident blacksmith asked, her attention half on Tozam and half on the work that he had brought her.  
  
"Yes. First is diet: High proteins like, let's say, ten wild turkey eggs in the morning and Caribou at mid-day and supper. Then, of course, is the ever important exercise."  
  
"And the third thing, Mr. Tozam?" Charsi asked, having a hard time keeping her eyes off of the large, muscular, and rather handsome warrior before her.   
  
"Good Breeding, pure and simple."  
  
"Breeding?" Charsi's eyes widened in shock from that one. "You mean you can get bulky by...?"  
  
"Take my parents for instance." Tozam continued on, oblivious to the fact that Charsi was blushing a bright red. "My father was a strong, ogre of a man. Pure bred Barbarian if ever there was one. He could down enough ale to kill a village of southerners and still be coherent enough to lead his men into the maws of battle the next morning."  
  
"Oh!" Charsi breathed in relief. "'Breeding' like that...I see."  
  
"There was only one warrior in my tribe who could put my father in control. All of the men of the village feared her."  
  
"Her?"  
  
"Yes...My mother. Twice as large as my father, and more fierce than any monster that he had ever faced on the battlefield." Tozam laughed a hardy laugh, "Ahhhh, good times...good times."  
  
Charsi laughed as she hadn't in months.  
  
"That is a very good tale, Mr. Tozam." Charsi praised, finally setting her   
  
smithing hammer aside and wiping the sweat from her brow. "Your swords are ready. The rusting and bronzing was quite extensive, but thankfully, the magic was untarnished. Might I ask where you managed to get such exquisite weapons in such disrepair?"  
  
"I took it out from under the eyes of a fat, greedy creature that just didn't know any better.  
  
"Ahhhh, Bargain price from Gheed?"  
  
"It was a steal. Now, what do I owe you?"  
  
"Sixteen gold."  
  
"How about twelve and a hug?"  
  
Charsi eyed the barbarian curiously.  
  
"Fourteen and a kiss?"  
  
"Sixteen, Mr. Tozam and the fee is not negotiable ."  
  
"Oh well," Tozam sighed, reaching into his purse and counting out the coins   
  
before handing them over. "You can't blame me for trying."  
  
"No, I can't." Charsi said, picking out coin out of the rest and flipping it   
  
back to the barbarian. "And you can't blame me either." She added, pulling the barbarian down and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.  
  
"That was for body-building lesson."  
  
Tozam suppressed a laugh and cocked an eyebrow to the rogue smith.  
"Any chance you want to hire me on as a personal trainer. I promise results."  
  
"Don't push your luck."  
  
--------------------------------  
  
Elric sat down heavily in the small, makeshift stool inside a makeshift mess hall for the patrons of the encampment. His head was pounding, and the rest of his body nearly exhausted from his one-sided battle with the holy ground   
  
surrounding Akara's relic.  
Why hadn't he backed down?  
He should have known that the High Priestess, Priest, Pope, or Que Hagan of ANY religion would have recognized him for what he was and had some sort of defense.  
Of course he knew why he didn't bother letting it known that he was not welcome on hallow grounds.  
  
He had wanted to impress Natalie.  
  
She wouldn't have had any reason to be impressed of course, but all the same, it would have made him feel more 'Normal' if she thought that he didn't have such obvious limitations.  
  
"You want something?" A grizzled looking merchant acting as a waiter came up to him, looking down on the tan-skinned young man with a sour glare. Elric could tell that this man was without any clue as to the true nature of his customer.  
  
"Do you sell food here?" Elric asked, trying to lighten his mood and doingeverything he could to keep from becoming snappy with the people around him. The last thing that he needed was to have the locals become suspicious.  
  
"What does the sign outside this twig-house say, son?" The waiter asked snidely.  
  
"Well, judging by the handwriting and the angles of the ancient runes, it was either 'The Dead Cat Bar' or 'The Filthy Socks Inn'."  
  
"That sign's written in common, smart-ass." The merchant said, crossing his arms and continuing his sour look. "And it says 'Food Hall'."   
  
"And they say that people in the food-service industry have no sense of humor."Elric waved off the man's next comment and rubbed his eyes thoughtfully. "Yeah, do you carry any fresh meat?"  
  
"Aye, young traveler." The man, nodded, "We have..."  
  
"Just surprise me, please." Elric said, not wanting to have to choose between anything at the moment. "Also, I want it raw."  
  
"Alright, sir. Venison, Rare!" He called back to the chef behind the bar.   
  
"Not rare, sir." Elric reiterated, "Raw."  
  
"That's what I told the chef, young master."  
  
"That wasn't what I meant. When other people say raw, they mean precariously cooked. When I say raw, I mean that I want you kill the deer, tear out the fleshy parts, put it on a plate, and bring it out to me. Save the chef time in cooking and get right to the eating."  
  
"We don't do that..." The waiter stopped as Elric reached into his money pouch and pulled out more than twice what the meat would have been worth fully cooked.  
"...for anyone else. Of course exceptions can always be made. Your food will be out in a moment with some of our choice ale."   
  
"No ale, thank you. I will take some hot tea though."  
  
"Tea!? No one has ever ordered tea from me before!"   
  
"First time for everything. Now go on, chop-chop." Elric said, feigning cheerfulness and clapping his hands to mark his point.  
  
The reluctant waiter was about to protest, but apparently thought better of it and went on his way.  
  
"You just can't get good service in these parts." Elric said mostly to himself, not even realizing that someone had snuck up behind him until the seat beside him was pulled out and a very annoyed looking necromancer sat down next to the half-demon.  
  
"I swear that I am going to kill that over-grown lummox." Cathim started, his   
  
face more menacing than Elric in his true form. "First my health, then my gold, then he had the gall to try and pay off the healer to suppress my short-term memory! AND WITH MY MONEY!!"  
  
"Oh, hi Cathim. Back from communing with the spirit world are we?"  
  
Cathim brought his thumb and forefinger less than an inch from each other."That close, that bloody close to making my stay in the afterlife permanent. And what's worse is that, after I passed out, I saw a long tunnel of light!"  
  
"What's so bad about that?"  
  
"I lost a bet with a peer of mine." Cathim explained, "He said that you saw the Light when you die and I said that there was no light. Next time I see him, I owe him a hundred gold. This has been a bad day for my wallet."  
  
"And how exactly were you guys planning to find out weather there was light or not?" Elric asked, "And why should you pay the guy until he sees it forhimself."  
  
"Well, because..." Cathim stopped, thinking about what Elric was saying. "Good point."  
  
At about this time, the waiter returned with a tray of bloody, uncooked venison meat and an urn of steaming tea.  
  
"What the hell is that?"   
  
"I have unique taste, necromancer." Elric said, picking up the crude metal fork and knife on the table and starting to cut into the meat. Without a second thought, he pulled off a small, dripping red hunk, and popped it into his mouth. "Besides, it has more flavor this way."  
  
"I'm not talking about that, Halfling." Cathim gestured to the meat, "I'm talking about THAT!" He restated, pointing to the urn.  
  
"Oh for the love of... I LIKE TEA, OKAY!" Elric shook his head and returned to his meal.   
  
"Raw meat and tea? Strange, halfling. That is just plain strange."  
  
"This coming from a death obsessed human who bestows curses and spends his free-time piecing bones together to make a better mousetrap."   
---------------  
"Hold, Mighty Warrior of the North. A moment of your time." The man in shining white armor held up an arm to stop Tozam in his tracks just outside of the caravan's general store/wagon.  
  
"Uhhh... yeah, sure..." Tozam looked over the man. Judging by the fine grade of his armor, Tozam would have thought that man was some sort of noble. But, his southern accent placed him further south, closer to Kurast. Then, Tozam   
recognized the emblem on his sword, helm, and shield. The insignia of the Zakarum.  
A paladin of the Travencal.  
"But I don't give donations, I'm not interested in being converted, and I wield no dark magic, so any lectures will be both wasted and over my head."  
  
"I wish for none of those things. Though I was not under the impression that you were in need of conversion." The paladin turned his head thoughtfully and added almost as an afterthought. "Maybe later."   
  
Then the paladin returned to the topic at hand.  
  
"I seek a companion for my journeys, good man."  
  
"A companion, huh?" Tozam repeated. "Well, I have heard that the brothels in Lut Golein are very sophisticated, but I think that you would likely be impaled before you could get companionship from any of the rogues. So, best thing to do is to wait until someone manages to open the gate to the mountain pass and go on to Lut Golein."  
  
"Uhhh," Under his helm, Tozam could tell that the paladin, probably in his early twenties, was blushing bright red. "That twas not the companionship I had in mind, mighty warrior."  
  
"Ohhhh, one of those, huh?"  
  
"One of what?"  
  
"Never mind." Tozam could see that this one was probably a bit too 'sheltered' by the church to understand what he was talking about. "Perhaps if you were to speak more plainly, I might be able to help ya."  
  
"Oh, yes." The paladin nodded, removing his helm and allowing Tozam his first good look at the smaller southerner. He would probably be considered handsome by the standards of a woman, but the burly, barbarian men of Tozam's tribe would have laughed out loud if this one announced he was a warrior. He seemed almost childlike by comparison to Tozam's muscular features, which had taken a lifetime of training and exercise to acquire. "I am Preen, A Defender of the Word. A child of the light and paladin of the Zakarum Church."  
  
'Yeah...' Tozam thought to himself quietly, 'Really hard to figure that out.'  
  
"I am on a mission most urgent, and, unfortunately, my former company ran afoul a nameless monstrosity on the Blood Moor some weeks ago and did not survive the hellish encounter."  
  
"Oh, really?" Tozam asked, his previous distain turned into sudden interest. "And what would your quest be?"  
  
"To vanquish all evil on the mortal planes, spread the light throughout the lands, and, most importantly, destroy the Prime Evil- Diablo: Lord of Terror, and save the world."  
  
Tozam was silent for a moment...  
Then burst out laughing in the paladin's face.  
  
"Oh... is that all? For a moment, I thought that you might be doing something important, like rescuing kitties from trees."  
  
"It is NO laughing matter, Sir!" The knight was more than a little flustered.  
  
Tozam's face suddenly became dead calm and serious.  
"No, it certainly isn't. But if you come up to most mercenaries and asked them to join you, you wouldn't have gotten such a jovitial response. Your enthusiasm is impressive, but I'm afraid that it is the only thing."  
  
"I...I do not understand..."  
  
"Start smaller." Tozam suggested, "Nobody is born ready to change to world, you must work yourself up to it. Try joining a party of adventurers with a mix of skills that benefit each other in a mutual relationship based on respect and the common cause of good."  
-------------- (meanwhile)  
"... and then I will stab OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER..." Cathim jabbed his dagger into the small, bloody carcass, punctuating every 'OVER' with a new knife wound.  
  
"CATHIM!! STOP STABBING MY FOOD!!"  
  
"And then, when I get good enough, I'll resurrect him and do it all again!"   
Cathim seethed in anger.  
  
"Nice plan you got there. Here, I'm the 'you-know-what' and it's you making the death threats to our colleague. You know, it's a wonder how this party has managed to survive for so long?"   
  
"We've only been an adventuring party for a day."  
  
"Like I said." Elric took another bite of his now even more mutilated and bloody meat."Hey, it taste better now."  
  
"Umm, I hope this isn't my poisoned dagger..."  
-----------------  
"Perhaps you are right sir...?"  
  
"I am Tozam. Warrior of The Wondrous City of Horrogoth." Tozam stated proudly.  
  
"A Barbarian!" Preen gasped in a mix of awe and fear. "A savage brute of the barren waste of the north that seeks to raid and pillage the far north villages of Kanduras?"  
  
"..." Tozam glared at the paladin in such a way that even HE got the point.  
"Alright, Let's try that again without the stereotype. I am Tozam. Warrior of the Wondrous City of Horrogoth."

"Ah..." Preen nodded, "And I, Preen, offer my services to you and your group."  
  
"Well that's..." Tozam stopped dead cold. "Wait! WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!?"  
------------------  
"Brrr..." Goosebumps ran up Cathim's entire body.  
  
"What's wrong, necro? Body heat dropping? I thought Tozam warned you against doing that sort of thing." Elric asked, sipping at some hot tea.  
  
"No, not that...I just suddenly have the feeling that someone I know is about to do something that I am going to hate."  
------------------   
"Well,...Ummm..." Tozam thought for a moment. A paladin was offering to help, and that could be a very good, if somewhat annoying, thing. Cathim wouldn't like it, but then again it might make him forget about the maming and the gold incident if the healer hadn't been able to do it.   
Plus, as he had said before: 'There are safety in numbers'.  
  
"Alright. I accept. On two conditions: First, no preaching, attempting to convert, or badgering me or any other members of my current party. No matter how much you're gong to want to."  
  
"But...okay" Preen was about to protest, but then thought better of it.  
  
"And secondly: don't slow us down, or we will leave your holy arse behind."  
  
"I assure you, Sir Tozam of Horrogoth, I will not slow anyone down. In fact, your current companions may very well have to work to keep up with us."  
  
"As long as you understand that," Tozam thought for a moment "We all take even portions of the treasure unless there are special items. Also... Wait? US?"  
  
"Oh yes," Preen nodded, "You see, friend Tozam, after my former party was lost to the forces of darkness, I came upon a young damsel in great distress and saved her from a hoard of dark spirits serving the beast that the rogues called 'The Countess'. After I dealt with the monsters, we plundered the tomb and, thanks to the gold we found, we have been able to rest for the past few weeks here until the poor young woman's nerves recovered from the shock."  
  
"What was she doing out there to begin with?" Tozam asked.  
  
"She said something about looking for some spare change. But I didn't press the matter. she was so grateful for my help though that the beauteous woman offered her assistance to my quest. Well, at least that's what I think she said. She did seem a little preoccupied when we discussed it, what with the gold flowing out of the chest in the Countess' room."  
  
At about this moment, Tozam heard a high, undignified woman's scream from inside the merchant's cart, which was followed quite swiftly by said merchant suddenly flying though the canvas covering of his wagon to fall between Preen and Tozam.   
Then Tozam heard what had to be one of the most terrifyingly dangerous human voices that he had ever heard before.  
  
"NOBODY CONS ME!" A young, blond woman wearing a peculiar looking red-leather armor and golden headband leaped effortlessly though the tear made by the merchant's exit and landed silently in front of said cowering merchant.  
  
Another girly scream came from the skinny businessman.  
"I..I swear..." he stuttered, "I didn't...didn't know... I thought that they were all good."  
  
"THOSE SO CALLED 'HEALING POTIONS' ARE NOTHING BUT WATER WITH RED FOOD DYE!" The young woman bellowed. And Tozam could have sworn for a moment that he saw fangs sprouting from her mouth and smoke coming out of her ears. "And don't think that I'm going to buy your sob story, Little man! Do you know what we do to liar on the Isle of Skovas? DO YOU!"  
  
"AHHHHHH!" the merchant squealed again. "Please...no, don't. I swear...I...I'll pull everything from the shelves...I swear I'll never do it again..."  
  
"THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!"  
  
"Annnddd...and.... I'll... I'll double your refund..." The poor bastard was shaking like a twig in a windstorm, barely able to hold his hands over his head in a feeble attempt to defend himself.  
  
Then, they blonde's entire demeanor changed in an instant. Her raging face suddenly twisted and contorted to look... happy. In fact, as she closed her eyes and smiled, she looked downright cute. Whatever fangs there might have been, real or imagined, likewise vanished. Now, they young woman who had been spitting fire a moment before seemed the very essence of innocent female youth.  
  
"Oh...Really? Gee, That sounds wonderful." She almost squealed with joy, reaching down and picking up the still frightened (and now obviously soiled) merchant.   
  
"Now, you go fetch my refund and I'll wait right here for you."  
  
The man nodded slightly, and was then was pulled close enough to the young woman that she could whisper in his ear. Preen may not have heard what she said, but Tozam's sensitive ears picked up every, blood-chilling word.  
  
"If you aren't back out here is two minutes, I am going to drag you out to the Blood Moor, cut open your entrails, and throw you into a blood hawks nest so they can eat you alive from the inside out." Then sweetly, she held him out at arms length and asked.  
  
"Understand?"  
  
The merchant wasted no time with confirming that he understood. He just ran as quickly as he could back into the cart where Tozam heard him rummaging for the coins to pay his debt.  
  
"Now, that wasn't very nice." Preen said while Tozam stared at the girl flicking her ponytail back and forth over her shoulders. "What if he was telling the truth?"   
  
The innocent girl vanished again and the fire breathing monster that was in her place turned over towards the paladin.  
  
"SHUT UP! OKAY! CAN THE IDEALISM! IF IT WEREN'T FOR THAT BLASTED.... DAMN,   
STUPID HONOR CODE!!! OHHHHH! PREEN! YOU....YOU...! I WILL KILL YOU! I SWEAR TO ALL MY GODESSES! I WILL KILL YOU!"  
  
To his credit, Preen the paladin never even blinked at the threat on his life or blanched at the hatred in the young woman's voice.  
  
"Have you ever considered going to a Zakarum confessional? It is really very cleansing for the soul, and I might help with that anger management problem you have there."  
  
"(Twitch-twitch)...noooooooooo...I don't have an anger problem... Thank you for caring though...(twitch-twitch)" The young woman's entire body was tense, almost as if she were ready to spring into a fight at any moment. But, as before, this changed almost instantly and the young warrioress turned to Tozam with a large, innocent smile of the most relaxed and sincere friendship.  
  
"Hellow, I'm Raid deAlkirk, First bow of the Amazon Guard of the Isle of Philios. A pleasure to meet you. I take it from the fact that you aren't trying to strangle HIM that we are going to be traveling together now?"  
  
"..." Tozam was speechless. But after a moment, found his voice.  
"Ummmm, yes... I am Toe-Jam of Nauggoth...I MEAN... Uh, Totam of Hagar, UH I MEAN... Tozam of Horrogoth. Right, Yes... Travel...left...I mean right..."  
  
"OH, wonderful!" Raid shouted happily, practically leaping into Tozam's arms and giving him a great hug around his neck. "I know that we'll all be best friends."  
  
"Ummm, yeah, I guess, uhhh"  
  
Then Raid leaned close and whispered into Tozam's ear.  
"By the way, I automatically get 50% of all gold found in parties between two and four persons and 25% in parties between five and ten. I don't join anyone larger than that. Also, I get first pick of jewelry and gems that are found as part of a horde. Is that acceptable?"  
  
Tozam was dumbstruck for a moment.  
  
"Ummm, first, would you mind telling me what they do do to liars on the Isle of Skovos?"  
  
Raid whispered the answer into his ear.  
  
"Yeah... Umm, okay, no problem. That sounds perfectly reasonable." Tozam said, looking between the Amazon and the paladin and wondering what kind of idiot he was for agreeing to let these two on as part of the team.  
  
"Cathim and Elric are going to kill me..." He gritted his teeth as he realized just what it was he had just done. "ELRIC!!! A Paladin?! Oh, my god...I forgot..."  
-----------------------  
"I am going to kill him, Elric. Pure and simple. A teeth spell right between the little bugga's eyes should do it and then...What?" Cathim asked, noting the way that Elric was looking at him.  
  
"I've been asking you to stop planning revenge on Little Bugga for almost twenty minutes and you haven't heard a word of it. I finished my meal like ten minutes ago and was going to ask you if you would mind checking in on Natalie while I when to try and find that friend of mine that I told you about earlier."  
  
"Oh... Okay, but only if you help me perfect my plan."   
  
"It's a deal." Elric said, nodding. There was still a little stiffness in his arms from his earlier encounter with Akara, but at least the throbbing in his head was gone. Now, maybe, he could try and find Alisa.  
  
"Hey, why aren't you with Natalie anyways?" Cathim asked suddenly, stopping Elric right before he was about to leave. "I thought that the two of you were going to talk to Akara?"  
  
"We were," Elric answered truthfully, "But, uhhh, Akara didn't like me. And apparently, neither did the ground near her tent."  
  
"I'm sorry, I don't..." The fact dawned on the necromancer, "wait,... you're like other abysmal creatures in that aspect, aren't you? You can't set foot on hallowed ground?"   
  
"Uhhh, I would rather not talk about that in the middle of a bar, Cathim." Elric whispered uneasily, glancing from side to side to make sure no-one was paying attention to them. It was one thing for them to say 'you-know-what' and 'like-you, Elric'. But that was only because such terms were so vague. If anyone in the camp started hearing that Elric couldn't handle being on holy ground, then it wouldn't take a whole lot to figure out that he wasn't like the rest of them. "And it's not that I can't set foot on it, it's just that it really kicks my arse to do so."  
  
"I'll try to remember that." The necromancer nodded, "But I should warn you, Akara's reaction to me will probably only be a little better than her reaction to you."  
  
"You're a man of the cloth, Catty." Elric said, getting off of the stool and leaving a modest tip consisting of two or three gold coins. "Just because your cloth is black and her's is purple doesn't mean that you two won't bear to get along."  
  
"She worships a giant, floating eye that is blind, but can see everything. What sense is there in that?"  
  
"What sense does it make to spend your entire life studying death? We all get there and find out all about it sooner or later anyways. Just find Natalie and lets get on our way as soon as possible." Elric moved to leave, opened the it, stopping in the door-way. "Oh, one other thing. If I gave you some coins, would you mind picking up some mana and healing potions from one of the merchants."  
  
"Why not go buy them yourself?"  
  
"I've never been very good at haggling or not getting conned. Merchants see me coming, they think: 'Young, innocent, harmless sucker'.  
  
"And what's so bad about that?"  
  
"With the exception of the 'innocent and harmless' part, they're absolutely right. Plus, I doubt that anyone would wanna cheat somebody that could curse them." Elric turned to leave, "I'll meet you back here when I..."   
  
He froze.  
  
"What's the matt..er." Cathim got up and realized why Elric had stopped.  
  
"Battle-Eagle Kashya. Fine day is it not? Especially the way the sun gleams off that steel arrow-head." Elric said flatly, hardly surprise that he was now face to face with the wrong end of the Battle-Eagle's bow. "I understand that you are not thrilled with the service of this bar, but that's no reason to take it out on the patrons."  
  
"I should have shot you the moment that you arrived at the gate. I should have known better than to blindly trust a stranger from the Moor, Monster."  
  
"Been talking to Akara, have you? I know it's pointless, but I'll go ahead and let you know that I think she exadurated." Elric asked, watching the young woman's face and trying to figure out what the Battle-Eagle was thinking. "I would have thought you would be glad that I was in here being good rather than out in the wilderness bothering honest travelers."  
  
"You should die. Right here. Right now." Kashya sneered, tugging slightly more on her already taunt bow.  
  
"Okay, but seeing as how I'm not dead yet, I'm guessing that you have some noble speech set aside that details why demons and other monsters of abysmal origin are so evil that they automatically deserve death. You know, something that says how the noble humans have to suffer the violence brought on without warrant by these monsters who show no honor, mercy, or constructive thought. I'm curious though. Do you plan to deliver that speech before..."  
  
"SHUT UP!"  
  
"...Or after you kill me in cold blood?" Elric had to hide a smirk. Judging by her reaction, he knew that he had nailed this one on the head.   
"Or is it that you haven't killed me yet because Akara told you not to unless I did something that warranted it, such as attacking the Battle-Eagle. Something that won't happen just because she's pointing an arrow at my head."   
  
"Back Down!! There's no need for this, Battle-Eagle." A third voice jumped in as Natalie Tasslewind came jogging up from the side of the building, apparently out of breath from her run. "Akara has allowed Elric passage so long as he doesn't bother anybody in the confines of the encampment."  
  
"Akara is acting the part of the fool!" Kashya spat bitterly.  
  
"She acts on behalf of the Sightless Eye, Battle-Eagle." Natalie reminded the warrior. "Do the acts of your tainted sisterhood now rob you of the values that you sought to protect."  
  
Kashya hesitated for a moment, her expression nothing short of pure repulsion for both the half-breed that was her target and the sorceress that challenged her faith. That, and the contempt that she felt from knowing that they were both right. Slowly, she lowered her bow.   
  
"I would like nothing more than to hang your rotting corpse on the gate as a warning." She sneered.  
  
"You know, that would attract a lot more monsters than it would repulse, Battle-Eagle." Elric mentioned before turning to the necromancer who still stood a fair distance inside the food hall. "And when in the seven hells were you planning on jumping to my rescue."  
  
"Uhhh, Truth be told, I was going to stand back and see if the arrow would actually kill you."   
  
"Your concern is touching, necro." Elric rolled his eyes, "Look, Kashya. I don't want to hurt anybody here. I only want to help."   
  
"I'll believe that when you start attending Zakarum Masses and singing in the choir." Kashya hissed.   
  
"Well, till then, the least we can do is be civil. Oh speaking of which there are two things that I was going to ask you: First, I was wondering if you might be able to help me find a friend of mine. Snow-Falcon Alisa Malthion."  
  
Kashya still looked at Elric in disgust, but now seemed to temper her repulsion with whatever warning or precaution that Akara had advised.   
  
"Alisa Malthion is no longer with us." The Battle-Eagle said, sorrow mixing in her eyes with anger. "She fell to the darkness in the battle for the Monastery."  
  
Elric blanched while Natalie and Cathim came up beside him.  
  
"Though I am rather curious as to how my finest lieutenant and childhood friend came to befriend you, creature."  
  
"That... is none of your business, Battle-Eagle."   
  
"Then allow me to go ahead an answer your second query: Whatever it is- The answer is no, never, and I hope you all die a painful and agonizing death." The Battle-Eagle then took the opportunity to spin on her heel and march herself away.  
  
Silence overtook the three companions for a moment.  
  
"Just when I thought that woman couldn't get any more unpleasant." Cathim chimed in.  
  
"Elric, I'm sorry about your friend." Natalie brought a comforting hand down on her brother's shoulder. He jerked slightly, but allowed her to continue.Had it have been anybody else at this particular moment, he would have likely  
torn their arm off. "Will you be alright?"  
  
"I don't get it..." He shook his head, his eyes beginning to lose their green and glow red. "Alisa was as fine a warrior as any...and now..." Elric tried to stay the anger that welled up in him.   
He hated that...hated that his human half felt every heavy lash of sorrow and regret, but his demon body and instinct refused to let him react with anything but hatred and anger. The need for vengeance against a foe he could not know.  
After all, demons could not cry... They had no need, so the emotion had to be released another way.  
  
But he couldn't allow that! He had too much to fight for and defend. He had his sister and newfound friends to protect, so in this, he attempted to lose himself. He had to set aside his feeling for Alisa at the moment and concentrate on the task at hand.  
  
"I...I'll be fine. It's just something of a shock." Elric said, "But, I'm sure we have more important things to deal with right now. What did Akara say?"  
  
"Well, after I told her about you, she said that since you managed to get past the enchantment protecting the encampment and cross the hallowed ground to see her, you must have the blessing of some goodly force. She also said that you would be allowed access provided you do not violate any rogue laws."  
  
"Well, that's good, I guess." Elric nodded.  
  
"Lets find Tozam and then I'll fill you all in on what Akara told me." Natalie said seriously, then looking over at Elric, added.   
  
"Ummm, Elric, you've got a little..." she scratched her cheek.  
  
Elric whipped his face and found a bit of cooling venison blood.  
  
He turned to the necromancer.  
  
"Yeah, this probably helped my speech with Kashya a whole lot. THANKS FOR LETTING ME KNOW!"  
----------------------  
"La-la-la-lala, La-la-la-la-lala." Raid skipped merrily on, singing a wordless tune that Tozam had never heard before. Happy as humanly possible and more than ten feet ahead of the slower, more deliberate steps of Tozam and Preen.  
  
She was quite beautiful, the barbarian could not deny. Her golden blond hair bouncing with her step, her fine, sharp features defining her face and body. But she was also so extreme, with moods swinging back and forth between innocent, playful Raid the young woman and to Homicidal Man-Killing Amazon Warrior Raid.  
  
Preen, on the other hand, seemed to have been trained with the greatest of discipline. Marching onward with grace and almost aristocratic posture, perfectly comfortable with his plated armor, weapons (a sword and scepter sheathed on each side of his hip.) and the heavy kite shield on his back. Just the dignity that he carried himself with seemed to blow out Tozam's first thoughts that Preen was a pampered, half-witted church errand boy.   
  
The Zakarum may have been zealots that didn't know when to stop preaching, but that didn't make their chosen knights, their 'Defenders of the Word', inept warriors. True paladins, Tozam recalled, were known for their skill and their undying devotion to their faith.   
  
Their one vice, their pride, was also legendary.   
  
"Thought there was no initial resistance, I felt that the tombs must contain some remnant of the evil that had dwelt their in the times when the Countess performed her dark rituals. One can only imagine my shock when I came upon poor Raid, surrounded by over a dozen of the twisted undead souls of the Countess's handmaidens. So, with their attention focused on her, I managed to slip around and make an exact strike to..."  
  
"Hey, she's getting a little far ahead don't you think?" Tozam interrupted, wishing that Preen would stop talking.  
  
"She's only a few feet ahead of us, friend Tozam, hardly a..."  
  
"I'm going to check on her, you know. Make sure that she doesn't...ummmm, trip on a... a... devil twig. Yeah."  
  
"Devil Twig?" Preen eyed Tozam, wondering what the hell he was talking about.   
  
Tozam, on the other hand, rushed forward and closed the gap between himself and Raid, having to side step around her to avoid knocking into the joyous Amazon.  
  
"He doesn't stop talking does he?" Tozam asked, keeping his voice down so that the paladin would not overhear.  
  
"No. Not really." Raid said, her voice harmonious and taking on a sort of wispy quality. "But despite the annoyance of listening to him, he does have his uses. Carrying treasure for instance. He's really good that that."  
  
"Soooo... You stay with him so that he can carry treasure for you?"   
  
"Well, Yeah!" She said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "One of the few things that men are really useful for in the field." She paused for a second and looked up at the barbarian's face. "At least at home they can work in the fields and take up some respectable trade. And I do not stay with him, I ALLOW him to stay with me."  
  
"And so the legends are proven true." Tozam chuckled to himself. "Women really do do all the fighting in the Amazon Isles. The men back home will never believe this."  
  
"Are they stupid?" Raid asked quickly. "Surly even a man as large as yourself must have your mate somewhere to make sure that you do not make an ass of yourself."  
  
"Well, Umm, there is a woman in my group... but she is not...that is ummmm...She is not mine and I am not hers."  
  
"Oh..." Raid seemed more than a little chest fallen. "I have not been in these lands for very long, many of your ways are still strange to me. But, this woman that travels with you, she is your leader?"   
  
"Well, uh..." Tozam had to think about that one for a moment. "She...is certainly the voice of reason in the group. And she did kind of bring us all together. But I don't know if she would qualify as our..."  
  
"As long as somebody is." Raid smiled, "I couldn't stand trying to be the only responsible adult in a group of men."   
  
"So, what are you doing in these parts anyway?"   
  
"Oh, you know. The usual. Traveling the world. Doing good. Gaining fame and fortune to rub in the face of my rivals."  
  
"I see..." Tozam shook his head, wondering why he was expecting something a bit more noble.   
  
"HEY! TOZAM!" The barbarian heard his name being called by quite probably the last necromancer that he wanted to see again.  
  
"Ahhhh, that would be our...ummm," Tozam threw a sideways glance to Preen. "Our, umm, secondary spell-caster."   
  
Then at last, the two groups met.  
  
A sorceress, a necromancer and a strange, unarmed, green-eyed boy first came into contact with their friend, the barbarian and the new coming Amazon and Paladin.  
  
Needless to say...  
The first few moments of their meeting was the stuff of legends.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT DOING HERE!!" Cathim, Elric and Preen shouted at once. Cathim and Elric pointing at the Paladin and Preen pointing to the necromancer.  
  
"You did not inform me that a member of your current party was a partaker in the dark rituals of Rathma!" Preen snarled.  
  
"What the hell is this 'Kapta' doing following you, Little Bugga! Are you being taken to the inquisition?" Cathim shouted.   
  
" Nostrao traida conistar domarrk Zakarum denteent!!!" Aside from the word 'Zakarum', nobody could quite figure out what Elric was saying.  
  
"Umm, guys.... this is... that is... Uhhh, lets not...What's a 'Kapta?'" Tozam had to stand between the three in order to keep Preen and Cathim from leaping at each other.   
  
The two women watched for a few moments as the three traded insults, with the large barbarian awkwardly trying to explain the situations and calm the others.  
  
Then they turned to each other, each taking the other's hand.  
  
"Natthilea Tasslewind, initiate sorceress of the Zann Esu. My friends call me Natalie" Natalie introduced herself to the blond Amazon, who smiled in response.  
  
"Hi, I'm Raidarin Metidisa deAlkirk of Philios Island, but you can just call me Raid, sister. Your friend invited us to join you on your quest." She looked back to the men, who had still not gotten past the shock of finding each other. "My companion in the shining armor over there is Preen of Kurast. He's okay, fo ra male. But don't ask him anything about the Order of the Light, or he'll talk your ear off."  
  
Natalie laughed quietly.  
"Well, you've already met Tozam, I see."  
  
"Yes, a fine specimen that one is. He would be a fine husband to someone back in the Isles."  
  
"The skinny one in the black armor with the skull designs is Cathim the Necromancer. A priest of Rathma and student of the arts of death."  
  
"Which one is he?"  
  
"The one who is now on Tozam's back trying to put him in the choke-hold."  
  
"Ohhh."  
  
"And the other one is my little brother, Elric."  
  
"Elric?" Raid repeated, recognizing the word. "White-Rose? An odd name for a boy."  
  
"Elric is...complicated." Natalie tried to explain, hoping that Tozam's stupidity in promising these people that they could join them would not lead to a tragic end because of Elric. "But a fine warrior, and he knows the surrounding land quite well. He is also knowledgeable of history and magic."  
  
The two's conversation ended abruptly as Tozam, Cathim, and Preen were all drowned out by Elric shouting out:  
"ENOUGH!!!!" His voice seemed to reverberate forever.  
  
"Elric, come on." Tozam tried to calm the halfling down. "You have to admit, we could use someone who can heal and, who knows, maybe the blessings of..."  
  
"BUG! JUST SHUT UP!" Elric shouted, his head bowed and his eyes closed. Tozam jumped at his voice, which had more than the usually safe hint of hiss and growl. Effortlessly, he shoved the much larger barbarian (who still had the   
necromancer on his back, trying aimlessly to put him in a sleeper hold) aside and stood face to face the rigidly formal paladin.  
  
"I wasn't aware that The Hand of Zakarum had come across the mountains since they abandoned Tristram, Travencal Dog." Elric mocked, making it a point not to open his eyes. "Is it the rogues that you plan to investigate? Did they not lose enough or fight hard enough against demons that took their monastery? Are you here to show them the error of their ways or are you just scouting out the area to try and put up another temple?"  
  
"I am not here to investigate or plan anything, boy." Preen shot back, attempting to use Elric's age against him despite the fact that he could be no less than four or five years older. "I am merely here to keep the peace and..."  
  
"...'Spread the light'." Elric finished for him. "Yeah, I know all about how you overstuffed, half-baked morons do things. First you come in and convince people that your all for them, slay a few on-hand monsters, then become very popular with the population. At least until they do something that you don't like. Then you just start with the hangings and the burnings. Making sure that nobody is 'corrupted' by the dark forces. That no one practices the 'Tainted' magic of the demons. All on penalty of being labeled 'evil' and in need of purifying."  
  
"That is a lie!"  
  
"Entire cities have been torn apart by your inquisitions! Townships turned against one another because of the suspicion and terror that your people spread. Chasing demons that either don't exist or you create yourselves. The sad thing is that the demons you chase are the ones that you create by going there."  
  
"Some of my brothers-in-arms do take overly drastic measures when contesting with the forces of darkness, boy." Preen seemed more than a little shaken up by the concept of what Elric was talking about. "But, in time, that will pass and they will see that they are wrong in how they handle their situations. It is true that we should not attack the symptoms of the corruption, but the core of it."  
  
"Yeah," Elric raised his chin, but his eyes remained closed. "Just be careful, Zakarum dog. Or you might be surprised to discover that the shadow you chase is the one that you cast."   
  
"Elric!" Natalie called from the side, "That's enough!"  
  
"IT CAN NEVER BE ENOUGH!" He called back to her, his eyes seemingly sealed shut, but still never moving from Preen's face. "If the others want you to come with us, FINE! But watch your step around me, dog. Or you might find that your feet have been chewed out right from under you when you need them most."  
  
With that final threat, Elric turned heel and stormed off. Blindly hoofing his way across the encampment's path and finally disappearing behind one of the many carts that had come to the Rogues for protection.  
  
The other five humans stood in silence for a moment.  
  
"What in the name of the Light is his problem?" Preen broke the silence, still somewhat uneasy from what had just taken place. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he could tell that there was something... unique... about this 'Elric' boy.   
  
"Well," Raid spoke up. "I would guess that he's got issues." She turned back to Natalie. "I agree with what you said: 'Complicated'."  
  
"Ummm... I would really hate to bother everyone..." They heard Cathim's weak voice call out. "But would someone be so kind as to GET THIS BARBARIAN OFF ME AND GET ME TO A HEALER!!!"  
  
Natalie only now realized that when Elric shoved Tozam out of the way, the barbarian had landed in a heap on top of the poor necromancer.  
  
"Oh, great! What else could go wrong?" Natalie asked as Preen, despite his earlier insults and mockeries, did not hesitate to help Tozam, and then Cathim, to their feet.  
  
"To be honest, Natalie..." Tozam said. "...That went much better than I thought it would."  
-----------------  
Elric did not stop.   
  
Quickly, and with his eyes closed, he marched straight to the gate of the Rogue's encampment. Only a quick order from a vigilant sentry kept him from walking straight though the doors and out into the Blood Moor, where he continued to walk for almost an hour, until finally the Rogue's Encampment was out of sight behind him.   
  
At about this time, Elric made the mistake of walking straight into a tree.  
  
"OW! UGH!!! STUPID TREE!" He shouted at nothing in particular, still refusing to open his eyes.   
  
First he had been nearly devastated by forcing himself to walk on holy ground. Then he had discovered that one of the few real friends that he had ever know had died. And then, he discovered that the stupid, muscle bound brute that his sister had become enamored with had hired a PALADIN!  
  
"What can possibly make this day any worse!?" He asked himself.  
  
Then he suddenly noticed a slight rustle off to the side.  
  
"Move and die, kid." A rough and tumble sort of voice came out from in front of him. "Drop the gold pouches and the outfit and we might consider sparing your miserable hide."  
  
There must have been about six of them, Elric thought. Bandits. Mercenaries that couldn't find a job. He could hear and smell every one of them now. His frustration lifted for a moment, allowing him to think clearly.  
  
"I'm warning you. You don't want to mess with me right now. Leave, and I won't kill you."  
  
"Ha!" The bandit leader laughed out loud. "How about this, child. I'll give you to the count of five to drop the coins and strip out of that perty outfit, and then I'll make your death quick."  
  
Elric didn't hesitate to quickly count down for himself.  
"5-4-3-2..."  
  
Elric heard the unmistakable whistle of an incoming weapon and...  
-SNATCH!-  
Caught the heavy, down-coming mace in mid-swing, easily halting it's path.  
  
"WHAT THE!!!" The bandit leader before him tugged hard on the mace, trying to free it from Elric's grasp. But all for not.   
  
He held the handle of the mace solidly in a hand with four bleeding, splitting fingers and a now useless fleshy thumb.  
  
Elric opened his eyes and looked at the face of the bandit leader for the first (and last) time.   
  
The out of work mercenary gaped in horror as the two fire-red eyes seemed to focus intently on him. It was as though the hell's themselves dwelt behind those pools of fire, and now, it had come for him.  
  
Elric hissed happily, a forked tongue flicking out between his quickly reforming lips and teeth.  
  
"Hellllllllooooooo, Misplaced aggression." He hissed just as he felt another, familiar, sensation from deep within.   
"And hello, Lunch."  
-------------------------------------------  
"And you are certain to the accuracy of this report?" Battle-Eagle Kashya asked the rogue scout, hoping that what she had just heard could not be true.  
  
"Yes, Battle-Eagle. The other four in my attachment died to insure that the message was brought back to you."  
  
"Blood-Raven..." Kashya sighed, wondering yet again if this was all a dream.   
That she would awaken from the nightmare any moment to find herself just another of hundreds of warriors defending the Rogue Pass from infrequent annoyances like quill-rats and the occasional yeti.  
  
"What should we do, Battle-Eagle. We can not sacrifice any more rogues from the defense force. There are so few of us left." The scout asked.  
  
"There is only one thing that we can do..." Kashya looked down on the encampment that she was sworn to protect, hating the fact that she was even considering what she was about to do. "Ring the high bell and call all volunteers who are capable to wield a weapon to the briefing circle outside my tent." She ordered.  
  
"We can not handle this alone anymore." Kashya couldn't believe what she was hearing herself say, even though Akara had been saying it for months.  
  
"We need help."  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
I missed an update Friday...(Looks at people with pitchforks) But there is a perfectly reasonable explanation!!! I was working on another fan-fic that was skewered when the artist who inspired the character refused to let me use her character in a story.   
  
Ah, well, themes the breaks, I guess. But I did manage to get this one in at looks at clock 11:45pm, Thursday. I made it! AHA!

(Revamped Friday, 7th at 9:45am, due to complications and a bunch of screw ups that made the story double spaced)  
  
Also: R&R PEOPLE!!  
COMMENT!!! ALL OF YOU COMMENT!! PLZ!!! I NEED YOUR COMMENTS TO LIVE!!!   
  
I need constant criticism (good and bad, as long as they are constructive and involve more than just 'It's Crap'. I really hate it when they don't even go into detail on what's wrong with it.)  
  
Well, Until next week. here's Robin Signing off. 


	8. Chapter 7: Plans In Progress

Diablo II: The Epic behind the Game  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo II, I, or anything else that blizzard created. In fact, some of my dialogue comes directly from the game, for accuracy purposes only. The Characters, however, are of my own design, directly from my chars on Battle.net  
  
(Breaths in deep the sea air) Ahhh, Another day, another fic. I am a little disturbed that I'm breathing salty sea air when the closest ocean is about three hundred miles south and east of here, but what you gonna do.   
  
For those of you having trouble keeping up with the increasing numbers of characters, I have this quick, cheat chart. (Tacks list on wall)  
  
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Characters:  
  
Elric Tasslewind-Half-Demon Cathim-Necromancer Raid-Amazon Natalie Tasslewind-Sorceress Tozam-Barbarian Preen-Paladin   
  
Kashya- Rogue (meanie) Akara-Rogue (not-so-mean) Gheed-Idiot Charsi-Rogue Smith Den of Evil- Dead Blue Fallen King- Dead 6 Bandits-Dead  
  
Current Party Body Count: 226 (220 monsters, 6 humans, 0 Evils)  
  
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---  
  
Ahhh, now that we are all up to date, It is time to get this party started!  
  
Rogue Encampment: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Are you trying to tell to me that the art of necromancy, the raising of the damndable walking dead, a power held dear by the foundations of the seven hells and countless demon armies, is not evil?" Preen cocked an eye at the smug necromancer sitting across the table from him at the Food Hall.  
  
"Oh, for the love of...Here we go again." Raid brought a mug of ale to her lips and drank deep, hoping that the fresh brew would help her keep from killing her obnoxious paladin companion.   
  
"Would you two shut up! I mean, you haven't talked about anything but religion and philosophy since you met..." Natalie tried to reason, mostly with Cathim, but was cut off as the Priest of Rathma, fresh back from the healer's tent, figured out his reply.   
  
"YOU SEE!" Cathim looked to Natalie for support. "Evil... evil...Good and Evil. That's where the Zakarum have it all wrong." Cathim looked back to Preen with an superior, intelligent look. "If we are going to work together, Preen, You have to understand that it is not a matter of good and evil. It has never been about Good and Evil. Even during the Sin War, when angels and demons brought their battles to Sanctuary, it was never about good verses evil. Those are simply the extremes of human tendencies, what we see as being right and wrong and everything in between. Such things that are evil in one culture, may not be evil in another, so it changes from place to place. The real fight, what really matters, is the balance between the two absolutes of the universe: The balance between Order and Chaos. Heavens and Hells. Angels and Demons. In that aspect, Necromancy is really no different from your magic's, the elemental magic's that Natalie wields or the physical or goddess given skills given to Tozam and Raid. They are all proponents of order and the strict discipline"  
  
"Ordered, yes they are. But in essence, demons and the magic's they weave, including the creation of the minions of Mephesto, the undead, are beyond any ethical reaches of good. They are, without a doubt, evil. If mankind is ever to succeed in growing beyond the temptations of hell, it must learn the glory of the light."   
  
"Which at times, has the nasty side effect of being able to burn away the flesh of those of us with something called 'oh, I don't know': "AN OPINION!"." Cathim banged his fist into the table. "If there is anything that the Zakarum can't do, it's understand and accept the point of view of another culture, magic clan, or religion. All that you can figure out is how to do is to conquer and convert. How the Zakarum ever came to be as powerful as it is now is a mystery to me."  
  
"We do not quash the beliefs of others," Preen replied, "We simply give them guidance, laws, and a sense of morality."  
  
"And who appointed you to set those standards?"  
  
"Akarat." Preen said simply, naming the prophet whose visions were the foundations of Zakarum teachings.   
  
"Right..." Cathim rolled his eyes, wondering if he ever came off sounding this arrogant when he spoke to others of the teachings of Rathma. "And do those teachings say that the teachings of Rathma are, what's the word you people like so much, 'blasphemy'?"  
  
"No," Preen shook his head truthfully.  
  
"Then why...?"  
  
"But that was only because Akarat was before Rathma's time. If they had been alive at the same time, I'm sure that Akarat would have made a believer of Rathma."  
  
Cathim's normally pale face turned bright red as he gritted his teeth and tried to process just how grievous an insult this paladin dope had just heaped onto the founder of his faith. After about a second, Natalie (who was sitting right next to the necromancer) heard Cathim chanting the Amplify Damage curse under his breath while one hand slipped subtlety toward the dagger at his belt.  
  
Thankfully, this course of action was quickly halted.  
  
"Hey all!" A cheerful-looking, green-eyed boy now wearing a bright red tunic and black trousers walked up to the table. On his back was strapped a large, metal mace that really looked far too heavy for the young warrior. "I see that everyone is getting along now." He smiled.  
  
"Elric?" Natalie cocked an eyebrow, "Where have you been for the last two hours?"  
  
"Oh, just went out for a bite to eat and a walk to calm my nerves."  
  
"Where did you get that mace?" Tozam looked up from his heaping, half-eaten plate of mutton and bone for the first time since the five of them had first sat down.  
  
"Found it." Elric said flatly, pulling up a chair between Natalie and Cathim. First nodding to his sister, then turning to the blond amazon across from him. "Hi, I'm Elric. Elric Tasslewind. I'm afraid I didn't catch your name before."  
  
"That's because I didn't throw it." Raid said coldly.  
  
"You know, beautiful, That line is about as old as the goddess Althulua."  
  
"And what do you know about the goddess?" Raid asked, contempt for this inferior man more than apparent in her Icy cold skepticism.  
  
Elric sucked in a deep breath. "Althulua: Premier Goddess of the Amazon religious hierarchy. According to legend, she pierced a cloud with the first-ever arrow to make the first rain-storm, and thus created the rain forest of the Amazon isles. Then, with the help of her friend Kethryes, she tamed the spring wind, the summer heat, the autumn colors, and the winter chill and gave them order, thus securing the four seasons in a balanced harmony all around the world. She rules over and protects the Amazon Isles and is credited with the creation of the Bow and the Arrow. Her insignia is the white bow crossed with the gold thunderbolt."  
  
And he said this all very quickly and in one breath.  
  
The other occupants of the table looked at him with blank expressions. Tozam's mouth hung open with bits of mutton falling out of his mouth.   
  
"Learn something new everyday..." Natalie smiled, shaking her head.  
  
Raid gave Elric more than just a blank look now. Now her eyes contained both a respect and admiration that had been lacking in her previous glance.  
  
"How...how..." Raid stuttered, "That tale, the part about Kethryes and the taming of the seasons. That's only taught to clergy and warriors of Philios."  
  
"Well," Elric shrugged, "I guess you could say that I have a passion for myths and legends."  
  
Raid was past impressed with this 'inferior male' now.   
  
"I'm Raid DeAlkirk. Pleasure is all mine." She shook Elric's hand.  
  
"And I am Preen. Defender of the Word and Knight of the Zakarum." Preen nearly leaped to his feet and extended a hand across the table to the green-eyed boy. "No hard feelings about before, aye?"   
  
Elric looked up to the paladin, a questioning contempt in his eyes, then looked back down to the extended hand. For a moment, Natalie feared some sort of repeat of the earlier verbal assault, but was both relieved and surprised when Elric smiled.  
  
"You look somewhat familiar. Have we met before?" Elric looked at the paladin curiously. He had been so mad before at the sight of the Zakarum warrior that he hadn't noticed that there was something strangely familiar about him.  
  
"No, I don't believe so. Not before today."  
  
"Oh, well. Never mind. I'm Elric. It's alright. No hard feelings." He took the paladin's hand.  
  
Preen, however, faltered for a moment and went slightly paler.  
  
-FLASH- Glowing red eyes, Flashing teeth, Blood...everywhere... -FLASH-  
  
Preen saw it for only an instant, in his mind's eye, but the moment it was over, he could not remember any of it. Like a passing dream, the images faded almost immediately, but left a lingering uneasy feeling.  
  
Elric noticed the sudden change in the paladin's complexion and became rather uneasy himself.  
  
Thankfully, nobody else seemed to notice.   
  
"Finally, we're all here." Natalie said, folding her hands together and leaning back slightly in her chair. "Now, if 'some of us' are done talking philosophy or stuffing our faces, we can get down to business."   
  
At this, Raid perked up.   
  
"How much gold?"  
  
"Ummm, as much as we find...?" Natalie said quickly, not wanting to disappoint the gold hungry amazon. Then, not losing any momentum. "Akara told me about the battle for the monastery and how we can get into the keep. But she said that before the rogues were driven out, there was a great explosion of dark magic's. She thinks it was an unbinding spell."  
  
"A what?" Tozam asked, losing the conversation right after the word 'magic'.  
  
"A spell of unbinding severs the ties between a denizen of another plane and allows them to walk on an alternant plane of existence like our world, 'Sanctuary'." Elric interjected, beating Preen, Natalie, and Cathim to the punch. "In short, it makes it so that a really powerful demon or angel can come to our world without losing any of it's power like it would if it tried to force it's way into our world." Elric added, hoping not to confuse Tozam. He wasn't even going to go into the other uses or applications of the Spell of Unbinding. It tugged at too many memories.   
  
"Right." Natalie continued, "And because of that, Akara believes that the Maiden of Anguish, Andariel, is actually living, flesh and blood, in the lower reaches of the monastery."  
  
"Andariel?" Raid was suddenly shocked. This wasn't what she had signed on for.  
  
"To vanquish the lesser evil would be to strike a mighty blow against the powers of The Hells, But that leaves the question: How are we going to overcome such a powerful devil?"  
  
"Send her back." Cathim reasoned, then, when everybody looked to him, he explained. "If we were to cast a spell of unbinding against Andariel, it would force her out of the moral world and back into hell. Then, with a sizable army, we could over take the monastery."  
  
"That won't work." Natalie shook her head, "The theory is sound, but A.) None of us have either the knowledge of the spell or the power to cast it. And B.) We don't have a sizable army, we just have us six."  
  
"Can't we find a scroll?" Preen asked, having sat back down in his seat besides Raid, who was now looking from face to face as though she thought them mad. "Someone must have written it down and between three magic users, we should be able to figure it out."  
  
"Four magic users." Elric said quickly, indicating to the Paladin that he, also, had the ability to twist mana for his own purposes.  
  
"Akara said that she did hear tale that there was such a thing in Tristram..."  
  
"No there isn't." Elric injected quickly, "I think it was destroyed when w... I mean...the three heroes collapsed the underground monastery in Tristram. Besides, it would take at least a month of constant travel though monster infested forests to get back to Tristram and then a year and hundreds of workers to excavate the fallen temple and find the scroll, if it did survive."  
  
"Nevertheless, the road to Tristram is our road." Natalie said frankly, taking a quick sip of ale.  
  
"..." All eyes were on the sorceress.  
  
"But, Elric said that the scroll was likely destroyed. There's nothing left in Tristram that we could use to our advantage unless our deaths guarantee victory." Cathim reminded her.  
  
"It is not the scroll or the ability to unbind Andariel that we seek. Akara says that even with an Unbinding, Andariel would have lost her immortality the moment she set foot in our world. We do not wish to banish Andariel back to the hells were she is little less than a god." She paused for dramatic affect. "If we strike as soon as possible, I think we can defeat Andariel and kill her once and for all."  
  
Silence overtook all of them.  
  
Until Preen finally broke it.  
  
"Let's do it."   
  
"This is madness." Tozam said under his breath.  
  
"You're saying that we...'WE' might have a chance against a queen of the armies of Hell?" Raid asked, only half-believing what she was hearing. This had to be some sort of cruel joke. "How can we even begin to consider...I mean, come on Natalie... we can't... it's impossible."  
  
"Not if we know how to do it." Natalie started again, gaining their undivided attention once more. "Akara told me: 'There is only one man, schooled in the ways of high sorcery that might be able to help us in this crisis. Only he, in all the world, might possibly know the true weaknesses of Andariel."  
  
"What sort of man are we talking about?" Cathim asked, genuinely curious.  
  
"The last of the great sages of the ancient Horadrim. One who has been trained his entire life to know, hunt, and destroy the great evils." Natalie said, "His name is Deckard Cain."  
  
"WHAT!!!???" Elric practically exploded out of his seat, standing up so quickly as to draw the attention of the entire staff of the establishment and the few people drinking at the bar. "You're out of your mind!"  
  
"I think that you missed that part of the conversation a minute ago, Elric." Tozam said, "You know, where she said that we have to go in and kill Andariel."  
  
Elric scoffed. "Look, I knew the Elder Cain once." He said truthfully, "That old man was far more trouble than he was worth. He most certainly wasn't a Horadrim. They died out almost a hundred years ago. Yes, he knew a lot about magic items, and...dead languages....and demons...and ancient history..." Elric lost himself for a moment. He HAD known the town elder of Tristram, Deckard Cain, to be an amazingly wise man... but Horadrim? No way. Elric had read hundreds upon hundreds of books in Atisar and the fallen monastery in Tristram, and each one that included the Horadrim spoke of powerful and wise mortal men and women who would stop at nothing to see the legions of chaos defeated.   
  
Cain simply could not have been one of these people. And even if he had been...  
  
"But, Deckard Cain was in Tristram. Tristram was destroyed. How then, do you purpose that we get him to help us." Elric mocked, "Have Catty over here bring his corpse back as a mindless skeleton?"  
  
"Hey..." Cathim started to protest.  
  
"We have to get to Tristram and hope to the gods that he is alive." Natalie said, standing up and now facing her brother eye to eye.  
  
"But it is so far away..." Preen pointed out, trying to drag himself back into the conversation. "Even if he managed to stay alive to this point, even the mightiest magic user in the world would run out of luck sometime. We do not have weeks to travel there and find him."  
  
"Akara told me that there is an ancient portal out on the Stony Fields. It is protected by six standing stones called the Cairin Stones that act as the combination keys to activate the magic." Natalie continued, "A portal that, once opened, will take us directly to Tristram."  
  
"Wow..." Tozam nodded, "That's a stroke of luck."  
  
"But, in order to open the portal, we need the combination which is etched into the bark of a tree in the black forest called the Tree of Inifuss."  
  
"What the hell is the combination to a magical portal doing sketched on a tree?" Raid asked.  
  
"Because..." Natalie thought for a second, but realized, "I have no idea. It was some safety precaution that the Horadrim thought of when they built the thing, I guess. Akara said she used to have an instruction manual in her office, but that was destroyed when the monastery fell."  
  
"Then, if we do find this 'Deckard Cain', I suggest that we ask him why his people had to make things so difficult for us modern day adventurers." Tozam said again.  
  
"So, let's see if I've got this straight." Elric decided to make sure that they all understood the plan thus far. "We need to find the Tree of Inifuss so that we can open a portal to Tristram, which was torn apart by demons. Then find a guy who is most likely dead, bring him back here, ask him to tell us how to kill Andariel: 'The Maiden of Anguish' who rules as a goddess in the Hells. Then we have to fight our way into the Rogue Monastery and actually set onto the task of killing said goddess in order to open the way to the east and then..." Elric reached the end.  
  
"And then...Why are we trying to get to the east anyways?"  
  
Natalie, Cathim, Tozam, and Preen all looked at Elric as though he were stupid. Raid, on the other hand, was just as curious about the question. To her, this was all just one big treasure hunt. The fact that she hurt demons was a nice perk, but she was obviously more into all of this for the treasure and the fame that came from obtaining that treasure.  
  
"The Dark Wanderer, Elric. We..."  
  
All answers had to wait though, for at this time, the relative quite outside the Food Hall was broken by the tolling of a great bronze bell. Every one, tenant, drunkard, and adventurer alike, turned and looked out the windows and doors.  
  
Everyone knew what the tolling of a High Bell meant.  
  
It was a call to arms...  
  
A cry for help.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------  
  
"This is all?" Kashya asked, looking over the handful of gnarled, filthy mercenaries that had come and gathered to the location of the High Bell in the center of the encampment. Out of the crowd, she could only recognize perhaps two or three that she would consider honorable. Among them also was Warriv The Wagon Master, Head of the Caravan to Lut Golein.  
  
"I'm afraid so, Battle-Eagle." The scout, who had been promoted from 'Ground-Pigeon' (lowest of all ranks) to the rank of 'Swift-Kite'(More than a six rank jump up the ladder). "A good deal of the men and travelers in this camp are not fighters at all, they're merchants. More than few have never even lifted a sword, I'd wager."  
  
"We wouldn't be able to secure the encampment with the addition of this rabble to our current forces, much less leave the encampment in their hands and try to lay siege to the graveyard." The Battle-Eagle moaned.   
  
She knew that even if there had been enough mercenaries to pull off defense of the encampment while the rogues marched to try and retake the graveyard, the price that they would ask for would be beyond what little the rogues still had in their coffers.  
  
"What should we tell them?" the scout asked, "They will all be wanting to know why they've been summoned."  
  
"Get word down there to Warriv and the others," Kashya ordered, "We call for volunteers to defend the encampment."  
  
"And what should I say is the reward, Battle-Eagle?" The scout asked.  
  
Kashya glared at the scout, hating the fact that she had to explain out loud to both the scout and herself. "For helping to defend the encampment, they can stay. If they want rewarded, there is another assignment that they must take. Any who wish to take on a suicide quest can..."  
  
"Battle-Eagle? Isn't that the half-breed?" The scout interrupted, her attention having been drawn away by the sudden arrival of a much different, more motley group of adventurers.  
  
Kashya looked down to see the late arriving sorceress and her companions, who now seemed to include an Amazon that she had received several reports about and a paladin.  
  
'What a lovely irony.' The Battle-Eagle thought. 'A Zakarum choosing one of those things to travel with rather than an average mercenary.'  
  
But most importantly, she saw the human-looking monster that had infiltrated her encampment, now wearing a bright red tunic and a large mace that was simply too big for him.   
  
"Wait!" Kashya turned to the scout. "How did you learn of what 'that' is?" She asked cautiously, her tone more like that of a person giving an order.  
  
"High Priestess Akara informed the barracks, Battle-Eagle. She advised us to keep an eye on that one, but to keep our distance and not interfere unless something 'sinister' occurred."  
  
Kashya grunted. Akara! Why? As much as Kashya admired and respected the high priestess, Akara was becoming more and more of a pain every day. First giving a direct order to Kashya not to disclose the creature's true nature with the camp, then circumventing her own orders to warn the other Rogues about it.  
  
Akara was undermining everything that Kashya had been able to accomplish thus far and, worse, was diminishing the already small respect for her position that her troops had.  
  
"Should we have the creature and his party turned away?" The scout asked. "Surely we are not so desperate as to need that thing's help."  
  
As she was about to confirm the scout's plan, Kashya was struck with a sudden inspiration. "No..." She said, thinking for a moment. "Belay that last order. Continue to call for volunteers to defend the fort, but I also want you to have the half-breed sent to my tent. Alone. I something else in mind for him."  
  
-------------------  
  
"Well, greeting's stranger. I must say, I'm not surprised to see your kind here." The man wearing the blue robe nodded.  
  
Elric stood back for a moment from the man and eyed him suspiciously. Was his disguise really so transparent, he wondered. It seemed the only two people in the camp who hadn't noticed or been told were now going to be traveling with him.  
  
"My kind?" He asked, somewhat untrusting.   
  
"Aye, Adventurers and the like. Many have passed this way since the recent troubles began."  
  
"Oh, adventurers. Right." Elric breathed a sigh of relief. "And you are?"  
  
"Oh, forgive me Stranger. I am Warriv. I run this caravan and hope to soon be on my way to Lut Golein. That is, of course, if the shadow that devoured Tristram does not consume us all. Some of us have even heard rumors that Diablo, The Lord of Terror walks the world again."  
  
"I'm Elric Tasslewind." Elric decided to try and make small talk. "Tell me, do you take those sort of rumors seriously?" Elric asked, trying to pass time while Natalie and the others were trying to find out what was going on.  
  
"Well, I don't know about that. But, now that you mention it, I do remember that there was a dark wanderer who tried to barter passage on my caravan a some time ago. He became enraged when I told him that the Caravan wasn't scheduled to go east over the mountains for over a month and then he stormed off. Maybe it's nothing... but this evil seems to have trailed in his wake. It was shortly after that that the Rogues were forced out of their Monastery and the passage east was closed off."  
  
"Dark wanderer?" Elric asked, a strange feeling of uneasiness. "You didn't happen to get a name or see his face did you."  
  
"No, afraid not, friend." Warriv said, "He wore a tattered black cloak with an insanely deep hood that covered his entire face. Aside from that there is nothing much to tell. In fact, I don't even know why I said it. I had completely forgotten about it until now. Strange."  
  
"Quite..." Elric wondered about this sort of this thing. His previous experiences with the Arch-Angel Tyrael had proven to him that there were no such thing as random coincidence. "You travel to Lut Golien?"  
  
"Yes. I hope to lead my caravan there when this is all over." Warriv smiled, taking an unexpected liking to the inquisitive boy. "If you're still alive by that time, I'll be sure to invite you along."  
  
"Elric Tasslewind!" A loud, demanding female voice tore at the air.   
  
"Wow, I have a fan-club." Elric turned about, not at all surprised to see almost a dozen rogue archers. But, being the smart-ass that he was, Elric was not going to let the opportunity slide. "Sorry, I won't be signing any autographs today. But if you come back later, I will be sure to see each and every one of you in turn."   
  
"Battle-Eagle Kashya demands an audience, Elric Tasslewind." The apparent leader of the small mob announced, a sort of repulsion echoing in her words.  
  
"Well, I appreciate the Battle-Eagle valuing my judgment, but first I would like to know what she is performing and if her singing is so horrid that she has to order or demand people to come and listen to her."  
  
Warriv found the last comment to be very funny. The rogues, however, were not laughing.  
  
"I swear...no sense of humor whatsoever. You know, just because all of Kanduras is going to Hell in a hand basket doesn't mean that you can't smile. Come on, just once? I promise not to tell anybody."  
  
Twelve rogue archers tensed up with more than a few of them nearly diving for the bows strapped to their backs.  
  
"No takers? I'll settle for a giggle... No. Okay, Fine. I'll follow you."  
  
--------------  
  
"We should leave. Now. Every second that we delay is another second that could end Deckard Cain's life."  
  
"Why are we not taking the rogue's job?" Raid asked Natalie and the others as they walked away from the mass of other disappointed mercenaries. "Is it because they don't wanna pay anything or because we already have a dangerous, near suicidal mission to go on?"  
  
"Pick one." Natalie answered bluntly.  
  
"It would be a noble cause to fight to defend the encampment, but it would be far greater to defeat Andariel once and for all and free the land of her tyranny." Preen said, oblivious to the fact that no-one was paying attention to him.  
  
"Better to be off fighting the good fight somewhere else, I'd say." Tozam was telling Cathim, his mind serious for a change. "The location of this encampment is badly thought out. A small force of monsters could easily encircle it and then storm right though the gate while every one of those killer-for-hire's is busy trying to keep the other monsters busy."  
  
It was Cathim, however, that noticed the most important detail and flaw of their plan to leave as soon as possible.  
  
"Hey. Where's Elric?"  
  
The entire party stopped and looked around in panic.   
  
------------------

"I am so pleased that you wanted to invite me to your tent, Kashya. But was the armed-guard escort really necessary?"  
  
"I have no time for your foolish wordplay!" Kashya snarled, looking to the ground and hating herself for what she was preparing herself to say. "I called you here because...because..." She found herself on the verge of tears. Then, in a very small voice. "We need you."  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear. What was that?"  
  
Kashya looked up again, pure hatred raging behind her eyes. Elric took this as a sign that this was, indeed, not a time for his usual jokes.  
  
His smile vanished in seriousness and his bright green eyes lost their amused gleam, suddenly appearing flat in color, but possessing of another, more advanced, intelligence.  
  
"What do you want?" He asked, his voice sounding completely different. It took her a moment to realize that there was simply no joy in it anymore.   
  
Kashya looked at the boy again in a long hard silence before finally managing to put her thoughts to words.  
  
"My rogue scouts have reported an abomination in the monastery graveyard." Kashya said, expecting another wayward comment. When she realized that it would not be forthcoming, she continued. "Apparently, Andariel is not content to take only our living. She has sent a foul servant we have named 'Blood Raven' into our ancestral burial grounds to raise our honorable dead as zombies."  
  
"And that means 'what' to me?"  
  
"Blood Raven was once of The Order of the Sightless Eye and knows our defensive tactics all too well. When she raises a suitable army from our fallen dead, she will attack us and shatter our fighting force. The Sisterhood can not survive such an assault and we can not spare the resources to take the graveyard from Blood Raven by force." She looked up and did her best to make the next part sound more like a request than pure begging.  
  
"I...We need your help."  
  
"From 'monster' to 'help me' in just a few short hours. Now that is progress." Elric said flatly, not trying to get any laughs. "Sorry, Battle-Eagle. But my party and I have something more important to take care of. And seeing as how you have been wanting me to leave ever since you found out what I was." He closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them again.  
  
Kashya took a step back, barely choking back a frightened cry as the full extent of what she had been hap-hazardly referring to as 'half-breed' struck her nearly as hard as the glare from the now bright red eyes of the boy.  
  
Until now, Elric Tasslewind had come to symbolize everything she thought she hated about what had happened to the Sisterhood. As far as she had been concerned, he had been as much to blame as Andariel, with the slight exception of the fact that she thought he was at her mercy. Kashya had thought she had control of the situation and, if it really suited her, she could have the beast killed on the spot.  
  
That thought left her once and for all when she looked into those glowing red eyes. A more honest and dangerous side of his personality than the joker that she had thought was the whole of it.  
  
She realized now that this was no mindless or mischievous monster that she was dealing with, intent on causing misery, pain, and death. But a creature with the calm, calculating cunning of a scholar and the cold, killing efficiency of the most deadly of demons.  
  
This creature was beyond her. "I will take my leave with my party now and be sure to try and stay away from your precious fort in it's final hours." He said, closing his eyes again and turning his back to the Battle-Eagle. "Forgive me, but I have something more important that protecting this hovel in mind." Elric started to walk out of the tent.  
  
"You said that you only wanted to help!"  
  
"I did. It's you that didn't want my help." Elric answered, reaching the exit to the tent and getting ready to pull the flap open. "You just wanted something close at hand to kill so that you could feel better about the situation."  
  
Kashya knew that she only had one chance left in this.  
  
"Blood Raven betrayed and killed Alisa."   
  
The half-demon froze in place.  
  
For several long, agonizing moments, nothing happened at all.  
  
Then, the half-demon spun around and glared at Kashya again, this time with a much more intense red gaze that nearly sent the battle hardened veteran swooning.  
  
"Keep talking..." Elric said, his voice degenerating slowly into an angry growl.  
  
-----------------  
  
"Elric! There you are!" Natalie shouted almost in joy as she finally found her missing brother, who was now walking toward her at a quick pace. "We have made ready to begin the quest so..."  
  
"I am not going." Elric said flatly, his eyes still green and human, but their color was dull. Quickly, he moved past her and continued to move toward the gate of the camp.  
  
"What? But, we have to find the Tree of Inifuss." Natalie tried to remind him, falling into step behind him.  
  
"Yes we do, but you guys will have to take care of that on your own. I have something personal that I have to take care of." Elric said, reaching down into his pocket and pulling out a small scroll. "I made this for you with some ink that I managed to get from Akara's stores. It's a portal spell that will bring you all back to the Way Stone in this camp after you get the inscription off the bark of the Tree of Inifuss. It'll save you all time by cutting out the journey back."  
  
"What...?" Natalie couldn't even start the conversation and suddenly found herself jogging just to keep up with her brother.  
  
"After you get back here, watch the Way Stone and wait for another portal to open up. That will be me after I find the Carin Stones and secure the area. Be sure to bring as many supplies and healing potions as you can. We are going to need them in Tristram after we open the Carin Stones."  
  
Natalie was beside herself with this sudden and unexpected change of plan. "Where are you going?!" She asked as they came to the gate (Which, for some odd reason, was already open.) "Should someone go with you?!"  
  
"No, I travel fastest alone." He answered over his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll be in touch. Just find the tree, get the inscription, and get back here as soon as possible and keep an eye on the Way Stone. The portal's that the scroll's summon only last for about thirty seconds, so you have to get everyone though quickly, and remember that it is a one-way portal, so once you go though it, you can't get back."  
  
"Can't you at least take a weapon? Where's that mace that you were carrying around?"  
  
"It was just for show anyways. Besides, Natalie, haven't you figured it out yet? I am a weapon." And, with that, Elric waved goodbye and started to run off into the Blood Moor.  
  
Natalie watched him go with mixed emotions. She would miss him, but not having him around while they tried to figure out the intentions of their newfound companions might be a good thing. One way or another, they had to set off as soon as possible.   
  
Every second they delayed would bring Deckard Cain another second toward inevitable doom.  
  
-------------------------  
  
The small fallen demon scrambled past the much larger behemoths and creatures that guarded the deepest level of the former Rogue's catacombs. They knew simply from it's small stature that it could only dare come to this place if it carried news, so he managed to pass, unhindered by the normally brutal guards of the Maiden.  
  
Glancing from side to side as it ran, it saw bone white spikes exploded forth from the ground at awkward angles all over the floor of this place, where the Mistress had made her temporary home. A fitting addition to the new coat of blood that was being used to paint the walls, ceilings and floors. Not to mention the occasional rack or torture device with the broken or decapitated rogue corpse lying completely stripped of clothing and items of value, but not always of meat.  
  
At times, the little fallen was almost tempted to stop it's run and indulge for a moment. To sample a taste of the still bleeding flesh of a mortal who had tried to defy the Mistress and paid dearly for the act.   
  
It still felt panicked, though, from the event before that had nearly eradicated an entire tribe of Fallen. It's panic drove it on.  
  
But that was not the worse of it.  
  
The power of the Maiden of Anguish was now in question. And she would not take well to such doubt among her followers.  
  
Much to the exhausted Fallen demon's surprise. The two enormous tainted creatures that guarded the great doors that led to the Maiden's Throne room pushed aside the great doors at the small creature's coming.  
  
This filled the fallen warrior with both a sense of dread and pride.  
  
'They open door for me! I bear important information! They open door for me!' Was about as intelligent as the warrior could think.  
  
Then it ran down the final hallway and entered the circular throne room of it's Mistress and Master. On a great throne constructed of human skulls, shin bones, and stretched skin, sat the Maiden of Anguish herself.   
  
Nestled in the center of the mayhem and stench of death, was Andariel.  
  
At full height, here in the mortal plains, the lesser evil was close on to ten feet tall, having taken over (and altered to her liking) the body of the woman who had led the attack on her when she was first being brought into this pathetic, human-filled, waste of a world. She had preserved the face and torso of the woman because she discovered that human women took great pride in those two areas and human men would always look to those parts of uncovered flesh first before they realized the true, deadly beauty of the form that was Andariel.   
  
She had reformed the legs and arms of this body to more suit her hellish persona, completing the scaled extremities with claws and a pair of uncloven hooves. And of course, the four, great, finger-like extensions from the woman's spine that came around over her shoulders and on the sides of her hips in a spider-like fashion.   
  
How many of these mortal rogues had she enjoyed skewering on these lovely spines? Andariel had lost count somewhere in the fifties.  
  
Now she sat on her throne. Bored, and hating the fact that the mortal women who were supposed to guard this citadel so well had been so easily and quickly evicted.  
  
Perhaps this pathetic little fallen demon that had so boldly run into the monastery seeking her out would provide some amusing tale of slaughter and bloodshed.  
  
It wouldn't matter which side won so long as she would savor the idea of glorious battle.  
  
'Perhaps,' She though hopefully, 'The humans have roused an army to try and retake the fort. Oh, how wonderful it would be to wade out into the thick of battle and lay waste to pathetic human armies again.'  
  
The fallen warrior started to bow incessantly and gibber in it's native language. A crude sound it was, and annoying to boot.  
  
Something about... a human...no, three humans. A fight... and a stand off.  
  
"Boring." Andariel yawned, wondering if there was any point to listening to the rest of the tale. Then she heard something that did intrigue her. Something about a new beast...a demon...a rebel.  
  
"Show me!" The lesser evil ordered in a form of High Demonica that the little creature could not possibly know. It stood in place for a moment and quivered in fear. Andariel moaned slightly, realizing that she would have to do this meager little task herself.  
  
Fiercely, she reached down one enormous clawed arm and snatched the pathetic creature right off the ground. With it first frozen stiff in her clawed fingers, then it came to life, kicking and screaming in fear.  
  
'Oh, these poor little wretches.' Andariel thought to herself for a moment. 'They simply don't know how to properly serve their masters.' With that thought, the Maiden of Anguish reached down and, with two fingers, crushed the skull of the fallen and ripped the head clean off, letting the rest of the body fall limply to the ground. It took a moment of shifting though the gray matter of the brain and white skull fragments to find the creatures eyes. But once she had found them, she discarded the rest of the beast's head and popped the two eyes into her mouth, savoring the flavor for a moment, then swallowing them whole and closing her own eyes.  
  
-FLASH-  
  
She was looking over the heads and horns of perhaps fifty other, nearly identical fallen warriors, but she could make out the three humans cornered against a tumble down half-wall somewhere in the wilderness. Two males and a female. -FLASH- She saw the vision swinging back and forth wildly as though the fallen creature was panicked and didn't know where to look. Then... She saw IT. -FLASH-  
  
A youthful, wolf sized demon cub of jet black scales and curved horns. Thrashing about wildly, cutting and tearing into each side with deadly efficiency. It's tail, claws and teeth worked almost in unison to bring death and taste the blood. An impressive feat for so young a demon. -FLASH-  
  
The vision was now seeing from the cover of tree's and shrubs, as though the creature who's eyes she was seeing though had been hiding. She saw the black demon sitting on the ground, spitting green bits of gunk on the ground. And then she saw both males attack it to no effect. The female then attacked with magic, enraging the demon and bringing it down on her with it's teeth around the moral girl's throat. -FLASH-  
  
It...It...It Stopped? It let the woman up and... they embraced?!?!?!"  
  
Andariel chose to end the vision there and surrendered what memory the eyes had to her digestive system.  
  
This was certainly an interesting thing. A demon...that had allied itself with the mortals? It was unheard of! Most certainly, in the millions of years of the Great Conflict and the Sin Wars, neither demon or angle had ever defected entirely to the opposite side.  
  
Unless... The Master had warned her of something like this. In fact, she realized, this was the EXACT beast that her Liege had told her of.  
  
This was the half-breed child that had stood against Master Diablo and foiled the Binding plan. This beast had destroyed all that the Lord of Terror had nearly accomplished in the Horadrim Temple in the land the mortals called 'Tristram'.  
  
The Dark Wanderer had left instructions that, if this creature should come to light, she should destroy it herself...personally.  
  
"My, my, my... This boring little assignment just became, ohhhhh, so much more interesting." Andariel giggled to herself in her throne of bones and blood.   
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
An Early Post! Whoa... Once I got into it with Cathim and Preen, I just couldn't put it down, so here's an early present from me to everyone. I just hope that Solarious will forgive me now. With any luck, I can still manage to get another chapter up by Saturday or so -.  
  
Next Chapter: Blood and Gore at LAST!  
  
Non-stop (Okay, it does pause at some points, but only so the story can move along) action. Elric goes on his quest for vengeance against the creature: Blood Raven, and encounters a very unlikely ally in the Monastery Graveyard.  
  
Natalie and the gang set out to find the Tree of Inifuss. When they find it, it all comes down to a simple question of ownership. ( Okay... HOW many guardians does this stupid tree have!? There are thousands of trees in this forest. WHY THE HELL DOES EVERYONE HAVE TO FIGHT OVER THIS ONE???!!!)  
  
(Yawns) Oh, I can't wait to start and finish the next chapter. Hope to get it up for everyone by Saturday. If not, then sorry, but I might get completely thrown off schedule and just do random updates until I either run out of ideas or I figure out why I was able to write this in only like four days.  
  
R&R Plz. Your opinions really matter to me. And the more Reviews I get, the more motivated I am to type faster and put up faster. I LOVE YOU ALL!!!   
  
Till next time, this is Robin Shirewood, signing off.


	9. Chapter 8: The Assassin and The Druid

Diablo II: The Epic Behind the Game  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo II, I, or anything else that blizzard created. In fact, some of my dialog comes directly from the game, for accuracy purposes only. The Characters however are of my own design, directly from my chars on   
Battle.net  
  
As I sat here quickly tapping,  
Suddenly there came a rapping  
A rapping on my chamber door.  
Twas my brother, nothing more...  
  
Quoth my brother as he pounded upon my chamber door:   
"ROBIN!! GET OFF THE #%$ LAPTOP AND MOW THE $#&$# LAWN!!"  
  
Twas then I realized the day passed by,  
and tears were draped upon my eye  
I found I'd spent a day entire,  
Writing things so thus inspired.  
  
Quoth my brother as he pounded upon my chamber door:  
"I KNOW YOUR STILL ALIVE! I HEAR YOUR MUSIC PLAYING! GET OUT OF THERE!!"  
  
The joy of creation, he'll never know,  
Life's greatest power I do show.  
To spark the imagination like a bird in mid-soar.   
And my chores shall be done, nevermore.  
  
Quoth my brother as he pounded upon my chamber door:  
"YOU BETTER NOT BE WRITING ANYTHING ABOUT ME! I'LL KICK YOUR $$ IF YOU ARE!!!"  
-Based on a true story-  
  
Truth be told, I very much doubt the last statement of by brother. He hates reading and wouldn't be able to make it past the disclaimer to see that I was writing about him (Chuckles)  
  
Ahhh, every now and then, I enjoy trying my hand at poetry. (Looks over the last three verses) Too bad I suck at it so badly. (Shakes head)  
  
Oh well, I guess I'll just have to stick to telling stories and coming up with quotes.... Here's one.  
  
"Wise men say that the pen is mightier than the sword. If that is the case, then the internet is the weapon of God...or a computer geek. Now a days, they seem to be one and the same." -Robin Shirewood  
  
No offense intended to other computer geeks like myself who spend all their free time writing or chatting or other such things on the internet.  
  
(Everything suddenly turns into interference and picture comes back a moment later to Robin)  
  
OKAY FINE!  
  
It seems that some of my readers don't want the poetry which I think is a nice change of pace...  
  
(Ramaon cocks shotgun)  
  
How did you find me while I was typing this anyway? And would you give Elric back already? I need him so I can run him though his lines for next week's episode?  
  
Okay, Enough fooling around. Time to get on with the show.   
  
The Cold Plains... Later  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The corrupted rogue's severed head struck the ground with a sickening thud as the jet-black demon, oblivious to the sound, tossed the rest of the corpse aside. The battle was over...for now.  
  
Elric breathed heavily the fumes of death around him as he stood on all fours for a moment, still as could possibly be.   
  
He was having trouble keeping the demon under control.  
  
'They are mine!' The demon argued, asserting as much forceful dominance as it could over the more reasonable fractions that were Elric's personality and his human instinct. Elric heard this argument every time he killed anything. But know there was another concern.... 'We should do with them as we see fit. For our reward. For our pleasure.'  
  
"Ewww, No Way! Gross!" Elric shook his head, seriously irked by the visual images he was getting from the demonic side of his mind. He was not unused to such things, but he would not allow for himself to become desensitized to it. Becoming familiar with and accepting these images as natural would most certainly be a step in the wrong direction for him.  
  
Elric knew that, when the need aroused, he could play the part of a killer.  
  
But he refused to become what he hunted. What he disposed.  
  
"No!" He refused the calling of his darker instincts and impulses. "We have a job to do and you will not put it in jeopardy for your lustings."  
  
'We demand vengeance against those who attack us and our allies!' The demon mind shouted back silently in his head. But, as Elric had learned to understand, the demon's bid for control was over. It sulked back into his mind, drawing away from the confrontation with Elric's trained and formidable will.   
  
'It is imperative that we find the Rogue Burial Grounds before darkness falls.' Elric's human mind chimed in, obviously understanding the sudden weakness of the recently predominant demon mind. "Even with our skills, it could become dangerous to battle undead at night. We must move on.'  
  
"Yes." Elric agreed with himself, but then looked up and around at the scenery.  
  
Corpse were, quite literally, scattered about all over the place. He had felt at first that having come across a band of corrupted rogues would have been a simple task. But realized his mistake the moment after he had attacked.  
  
The once lovely young women of the Sightless Eye now reeked of demonic possession, whether voluntary or involuntary, he could to tell, but the corruption went much further than their paled, yellowish skin and their maniacal, blood-lusting attack style. The fury of Andarial bestowed a hellish strength and endurance upon these damned souls.   
  
And what's worse, if he had no proof before that all of the monsters and creatures of the area shared a common master, he did now. The tainted rogues had risen an alarm with obviously magical horns that had brought dozens of zombies and quill rats out of nowhere. A short time later, a pack of at least six gargantuan came as well, and soon after another regiment of corrupted rogue archers who had attempted to pick him off from the hill that he now stood on. Thankfully, his color-blending skill made him an awful target to hit from a distance and he had managed to get up the hill and take the vile rangers where he was most dangerous, in close quarters combat.  
  
The green grass dripped red with blood, as did the now black half-demon, whose scales were beginning to crust with the cold, drying fluid.  
  
He had fought more during the random encounters in the last few hours than he had the entire night that he was in the Den of Evil and the entire month before when he was alone in the wilderness, and he was now beginning to feel that lack of sleep that had threatened him since mid-day. He had not slept since the four hour camp-out in the cave almost twenty-four hours before now. As much as he hated to admit it after his trying day, he was physically and mentally exhausted and night was quickly setting in.  
  
"No." Elric changed his mind. His task was great, but he did not expect that he would be able to manage without at least a few hours of real rest.   
  
'I WANT BLOOD!' His demon side shrieked at the idea. 'WE DEMAND SATISFACTION!'  
  
"You'll get it." Elric promised out loud, to the demon as well as to himself. "Later tonight. You'll get it."  
  
It took almost half-a-hour, a relatively long time, but Elric did manage to find the perfect spot for rest. Silently, he managed to wedge himself snuggly between two rough and unwelcoming boulders and changed his scales to match the rocks, throwing in a couple of well placed lines of darker gray here and there to keep him looking convincing.   
  
As final part of the disguise, Elric threw a clawful of dust into the air and let it fall over him, giving him a slight sparkling look as though his scales had tiny traces of quarts embedded in them. (The not yet dry blood added wonderfully to the effect)  
  
Convinced that this disguise, and the close proximity of the stinking corpses nearby that would mask his sent, would fool all but the most observant of monsters, Elric curled up uncomfortably between the tight fitting boulders and fell into a light sleep.  
  
As perfectly still as he laid, no one would ever expect that the lump of gray in between the other two lumps of gray was anything but more useless, boring rocks.  
  
------------------   
  
"Ah... ahhh... ACHOO!!"   
  
Five weapons: A staff, a wand, and three swords, leaped out of their protective covers as the wielders spun around in battle stances, ready to fight to the death.  
  
"Uh..." Raid sniffled, "Sorry."  
  
"Oh... for the love of the Ancients..." Tozam put his two swords away the tension still as heavy on him as before. "Warn us before you do something like that..."  
  
"Quite!" Preen shushed them, looking about the landscape for any sign of danger.   
  
"Oh, go soak your head in a vat of monster spit!" Cathim said, annoyed that they had been taking the Paladin's advice thus far. "We haven't seen hide or hair of a single creature, living or dead, for hours. It's so quite that we're all on edge. So what is the point in traveling in 'strategic silence'?"  
  
"If we travel in silence, then we can better sneak up on the forces of evil and deal a more effective blow."  
  
"WHAT FORCES OF EVIL!" Cathim shouted at the top of his lungs, "We haven't seen a any sign of any 'evil' since we found those six bodies out on the Blood Moor."   
  
"And that was not reason enough to be cautious?" Preen asked, remembering all too well the gruesome horror of those six men, laid out, with some of them apparently having lost most of their flesh and organs to hungry monsters or carrion birds. "We should learn from the sacrifice of those noble warriors."  
  
"Uh, Preen..." Tozam gave the paladin a questioning look, "You do realize that those men were bandits don't you?"  
  
"Bandits?" Preen looked shocked. "How could you tell?"  
  
"You learn to recognize the look of how a man lived when you travel though out the tundra of the northlands constantly." Tozam said, taking pride in his powers of deduction.  
  
"Hey, Natalie?" Raid moved the the front of the moving band as the men continued to talk about their little things. "Do we even know where we're going to find the Tree of Inifuss?"  
  
"Akara said that it was somewhere in the Dark Woods." Natalie told the Amazon, wondering for herself why it had been so quite.   
  
When She, Tozam, and Cathim had been traveling, before meeting Elric, they were being attacked by quill rats, zombies, and the like almost constantly. Now, she could see, there were few things that made this expedition to find the Tree of Inifuss any different from a pleasant walk in the country side.  
  
"What does the Tree look like anyway?" Raid asked again, looking about to see quite a few trees dotting the plains."  
  
"I'll know it when I see it."   
  
"Did Akara say that too?"  
  
"How did you know?"  
  
"I had a hunch..." Raid was about to laugh, but then noticed a slight movement over the edge of a hill of their left. "...That we might want to get ready to fight!"   
  
In one fluid movement, Raid swung her composite bow over her shoulder, pulled an arrow out of the quiver, took aim and fired over the hill.  
  
In the time that it took Tozam and the others to realize Raid was preparing another arrow, they heard a loud caterwaul, as if a strangled, dying sheep was crying out in pain.   
  
A second later, well over twenty twisted abominations, half man and half goat, came charging over the hill, baa-ing in hatred with each brandishing either a sharp, gleaming poleaxe or a enormous battle-axes.  
  
The agents of Hell's army.  
  
Goat-Men.  
  
"Well..." Tozam smiled at the sight, his hands going back down to the two swords that rest on each side of his hip, "It's about damn time I get to try these things out."  
  
"For the glory of the Light!" Preen shouted, arming himself with his blade as well and easily slipped the large shield from his back to his shield arm.  
  
"HAI AKARAT!!" The paladin shouted, raising his blade in a warrior's salute before charging forward to do battle with the foul goat men.  
  
Cathim stood back a moment and watched Preen charge forth as he slowly and deliberately pulled out the etched wand he found in the Den of Evil.  
  
"Awww, how cute." He commented with a chuckle. "The little pally-wally has a battle cry." Then seriously, "Maybe I should sit this one out..."  
  
"FOR ARREAT!!" Tozam rushed forth, a blade in each hand and a ridiculous grin on his face.  
  
"Oh! For the love of... Since when does HE have a battle-cry?" Cathim sighed, indifferent to the fact that the rest of the party had already begun to engage in battle. "Oh well, I guess I have to go and make sure none of them hurt themselves."  
  
The goat men attacked in line, breaking off in two uneven groups: the smaller of which attacked Natalie and Raid, while the larger group rushed forward to take down the three now battle ready warriors.  
  
"HEY!" Raid called out in frustration, letting another arrow fly and cutting down another of the beast. "YOU MORONS!! THE DANGEROUS ONES ARE OVER HERE!!" She tried shouting over the growing chaos, her pride seriously wounded by the fact that these creatures didn't take her or Natalie seriously.   
  
None of the creatures heard her, as they were all engaged by one opponent or another.   
  
Natalie spent a moment friening horror, allowing the goat men to believe they had cornered a helpless woman, but then raised her hands high, calling on her mana.   
  
Just as the creature came close enough, the sorceress brought her hands down, releasing a long gout of uncontrolled flame and successfully incinerating the two goat-men effortlessly in the Inferno Spell.   
  
Cathim, being his usual self, watched the muscular barbarian wading into battle, and began readying the one of his personal favorite curses, 'Weaken', when another of the foul smelling monsters came up behind him.   
  
With it's great axe raised high over his head, the goat-man started to heave downward...  
  
But suddenly rocked a moment and, with a slight bit of blood dripping out of the new hole in his skull, was overweighted and fell back wards with the weight of the axe.  
  
"Hmmmm," Cathim wondered, curiously eying the wand while the bloody battle continued to be waged around him. "A 'Teeth' spell right between the eyes? So that's what this thing does? I didn't even have to chant. Now that is what I call craftsmanship."   
  
His thinking was interrupted by having to dodge the charging of another goat-man, which forced him to take a slightly more concentrated role in the battle.   
  
Preen, on the other hand, seemed to have everything under control. Even with three opponents wailing on him at every turn, swinging blades all around him, the paladin never missed a beat.   
  
When the goat-man on the left of him slashed, Preen blocked with his shield.  
  
When the goat-man on the right of him lunged, Preen parried with his sword.  
  
And when the third goat-man attempted to come up behind the paladin and attack his apparently open backside, Preen spun about at the last possible moment, dodging the attack, but allowing the left goat-man to appreciated it very well. A split second later, using the momentum from his previous dodge move, Preen went down into a crouch, kicking out and effectively tripping up the attacking goat-man who had his axe stuck in his companion.  
  
Preen stood again, just in time to face the last standing goat-man and block an incoming swipe from a pole-arm. They faced each other for only a moment longer before Preen saw a sizable hole in the goat-man's defenses and lunged forth himself, plunging his sword right into his opponents gut.   
  
Taking no break, Preen twisted the blade slightly (making sure that his blade exited the other side of the beast and severed it's spinal cord), and ripped the blade out again, twisting it downward and ramming it straight into the ground, on the exact spot where a knocked down, but not dead, goat-man's neck just happened to be.  
  
Preen relaxed for a moment, praising the Angels above for watching over him, before pulling his blade free from the ground (not to mention the goat-man's neck) and turning to find other foul creatures to slay in the name of righteousness.  
  
All and all, the entire procedure took about seven seconds.  
  
Tozam, in accordance to the ancient and traditional ways of the people of the North, simply continued to kill anything that came within five feet of him.  
  
"HHHHAAAAAIIIIIIAAAAAAA!!!!" He shouted in a mix of rage and pleasure that could only be brought on by battle and the ever looming possibility of death. One by one, he jabbed, sliced, or straight out decapitated every hoofed monster that came near him. As an wondrous bonus, he discovered that, whenever his new swords drew blood, they did not simply "draw blood", they made it come out in rivers.  
  
Even the most trivial injuries delivered by the twin "Blood Letter" swords became great gasping wounds that poured out great masses of blood, weakening the creatures almost instantly and slowing them, allowing for a second, more fatal stroke to come.  
  
Between the flying arrows of death, the magic of both fire and flying bones, the skill of a paladin, and the unmatchable fury of a barbarian wielding magical swords:  
  
The goat-men were not only heavily outclassed,   
  
They were royally screwed.  
  
And inside thirty seconds, every last one of them were dead or dying from immense blood loss.  
  
"Oh, YES!" Tozam cried out in victory. "That was just what I needed! Come on everyone: GROUP HUG!"  
  
"Uhhhhhhh," Natalie looked at the blood soaked barbarian with indignity, "How about we don't."  
  
"SWEET!" Raid leaped up into Tozam's arms for a moment. Then, letting go almost as quickly, she went immediately to work, looting the corpses.   
  
"Well, I'll be..." Cathim looked at the corpses on the ground around the paladin, then up to Preen, with a new earned respect. "How many did you get?"  
  
"Seven all and all." Preen said, wiping his blade on the grass and, though Cathim couldn't hear it, muttering a prayer of thanks. "Not that it is important to keep count."  
  
"Huh? I only got three, and one of those already had an arrow in his shoulder." Cathim shook his head, and then looked to the Zakarum warrior again.   
  
At about this time, Tozam walked up to the others.  
  
"Well, Father Kick-Ass, I suppose I owe you an apology." The big man said sheepishly, "You defiantly have some skill. And you just might have some idea what you are doing."  
  
"Father Kick-Ass?" Preen wondered for a moment, unsure of what to think of this sort of title. "I am not a priest."  
  
"Closest thing that we have to one in this group." Tozam said with a smile.  
  
"There are times when I loathe you..." Cathim muttered half-heartedly  
  
"Come on, BOYS!" Natalie said quickly looking over the hills again, more alert now. This battle may have been relatively easy, but that would be no reason to linger and tempt fate further. They had a mission. "We have a tree to find."   
  
"Hey!" Raid came up to Natalie, a rather large hoop of gold in her hand. "Do you think this would look good on me?" She asked, holding the ring up to her ear.  
  
"Where did you find that?" Tozam asked as they started marching again.   
  
"In one of the dead goat's noses." She said shortly, holding it up to her ear again. "So, what do you think Tozam? Too much?"  
  
--------------------------  
  
Elric awoke with a start as the air was suddenly knocked out of him.  
  
Surprised, he had nearly jumped up, ready to maul whatever was closest to him. But, thankfully he had managed to control himself and took a moment to access the situation.  
  
Something, a good deal of weight, had settled on the arc of his back, right below his lungs and made it incredibly hard to breath without wheezing. So, he tried to keep his breaths shallow as he opened one eye and took a sniff of the air to attempt and determine what it was that had decided to turn him into a chair.  
  
The scent was... human.  
  
And, in the light of a flickering torch, which was wedged between two of the natural rocks, he easily saw the pair of nicely shaped legs that were dangling down only a few inches from his snout (one bare and the other covered with a heeled, calf-length black leather boot) were most defiantly those of a well-toned, and well muscled, woman.  
  
'yum, nice legs...' Elric's human mind erupted for a second before he could push the though aside. Thankfully, the demon did not bother to comment.   
  
Above him, he heard a sigh, followed by the feeling of small rocks and dirt tumbling down his flank.  
  
"How do these stupid rocks manage to get into almost knee-high boots?" He heard the young woman sitting on him say as he felt her weight shift and watched the bare foot lifted up.  
  
It took a good bit of control to keep from moving as he felt the young woman wiggling around on top of him, obviously pushing her boot back on. Finally, she sat still again.  
  
'Oh, for the love of the Crystal Arch, woman...' Elric thought, closing his eye again, just in case. 'Get off of my back!'   
  
Then, Elric heard the scraping of metal on metal.   
  
'What the hell?' Both of Elric's eyes bolted open, rolling as high as he could get them to without moving his head. He saw small sparks, as if she were sharpening a weapon.  
  
The surprise, however, did not hit it's height until he felt three, incredibly sharp blades scrape up against the scales of his rump.  
  
"WARRKKK!!" Elric yelped, bucking upward and lunging forward with a snap.   
  
He only went a few feet before stopping and turning back, looking closely to see what damage had been done.   
  
The weapon's mark was not like any conventional weapon that he had ever seen before, and reminded him far more of three clawed monster. The fact that it had so easily penetrated his scales and drawn three dark-red lines of blood along his stone gray rump was also a cause for concern.  
  
"OWW!" Elric cried out, holding the small, rather superficial wound for a moment, really doing it more to get over the shock of the slight injury more than anything.   
  
"What the hell, girl! Watch where you're sharpening those things..." Elric looked up to see the young woman, pale with dark hair and a skin-tight outfit that shone a brilliant midnight-black that rivaled Elric's usual color. However, while she was quite fair to look upon, she was also fit, toned, and down in a battle-ready crouch. In each hand, she held a small, strange, distinct weapon which created the illusion that she had three long blades growing from her knuckles. Such a weapon was unique, and though he had never seen one before, he had heard of them. And as far as he knew, they were used only by one society.  
  
"Viz-Jaq'taar. The Order of the Mage Slayers." Elric stared for a moment at the young, woman. So, this was a legendary Assassin, a hunter of demoniacally corrupted Vizjerei and wizards that his magic-using friend Vajiha had told him about. They were feared by all who practiced the art, even though their very existence was doubted by some.  
  
If this wasn't proof, then Elric didn't know what was.  
  
It wasn't until about now that he realized that he was a wolf-sized monster facing an assassin trained to root out and eradicate demonic possession.  
  
"Ummmm," Elric looked up, slowly edging away from the warrior and trying to think of what he could possibly say to not get pulled into a life or death battle.   
  
"Hi....Uhhhh, I'm here in peace.I don't want any trouble..."  
  
"HIAAA!" The assassin lunged forth, brandishing her clawed blades as she dashed forward and attempted a powerful looking tornado-kick to Elric's head.  
  
"WHOA!" Elric exclaimed, only barely able to pull back enough to dodge the blow, dispute his enhanced reflexes. "COME ON! I SAID I DIDN'T WANT TROUBLE!!! I DON'T WANNA HURT YOU EITHER, VIZ-JAQ'TAAR!!!"  
  
The assassin pushed forward again with an interesting combination of swipes from her claws and kicks from both of her well formed legs which Elric had been admiring only a few moments before.  
  
As he settled himself into a defensive position, Elric made it a point to chalk up another horrific first impression on his list of very bad first meetings.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
The tree exploded loudly, sending shock waves though the small adventuring party as they tried in vain to ward off falling pieces of falling kindling.  
  
"You don't think that was the one we were looking for, do you?" Tozam asked curiously, looking back down to the row of stumps that they had left in their wake.  
  
"WOULD YOU STOP ASKING THAT ALREADY!!!" Natalie turned about, giving the barbarian a devastating glare. "I can't help it that the stupid forest is so thick we can't walk in it! I'm just clearing a path."  
  
"I'm just concerned that the magic we came here for might end up in as many pieces as that last hunk of wood."  
  
"Ask that question again, barbarian..." Natalie's eyes narrowed, "And YOU will end up in as many pieces as that last hunk of wood."  
  
"We must keep moving." Preen said, bringing the two out of their debate. "The evil in this place is nearly as thick as this accursed grove."  
  
"And how would you know?" Cathim asked, skepticism in his voice, "Do you feel a disturbance in the good of all things? Is there an Uber-evil being heading this way that must be shown the way of the light?"  
  
"I can smell the evil!" Preen claimed, looking around and trying to look past the dense corpse of trees that made up the majority of The Dark Wood. "It is heavy in the air, lingering in a foul, sour pungency that could drive lesser men mad."  
  
Raid, right at the Paladin's side, tilted her head up and sniffed at the air. Then, her face twisted in rage.  
  
" 'THAT' IS 'Scent De Alriccia'!" She shouted in the paladin's ear. "IT'S MY PERFUME, YOU DOLT!!"  
  
"REALLY!?" Preen looked shocked again. "Are you sure? It smells remarkably like evil."  
  
"WHY I OUTTA..."   
  
Raid's threat, which had become an almost hourly custom between her and the Paladin Preen (Usually followed by intense bleeding on the paladin's behalf), was cut short by the explosion of another tree and the continued fall of wood chips.  
  
"Hey!" Natalie called back to the others. "I think I can see a clearing up ahead!"   
  
"Does anybody else hear that?" Tozam jumped up, suddenly looking serious, as though he were straining his ears, trying to catch a nearly undetectable sound.  
  
Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened.  
  
Barely...just barely...above the sounds of their collective heartbeats and slightly labored breaths, they could hear the distant sound of angry shouts and growls, followed by the unmistakable sounds of battle.  
  
"Natalie!" Cathim looked to the sorceress, "Do you have anything that can clear us a path faster than fire bolts?"  
  
"Uhhh..." Natalie had to think for a moment, "There is a spell that I learned back at the Zann Esu College...but I'm not sure if it would be wise..."  
  
"Use it!" Cathim shouted, "The life another warrior may be at stake! If that is not enough to warrant the use of a more dangerous spell, then what of Deckard Cain?"  
  
Natalie made her decision only a half a second later.  
  
"Stand back!" She warned, getting ready to focus her mana as she had been taught.  
  
After only a few moments, flames launched out of nowhere, intertwining themselves and gathering strength until they became a unified, nearly solid wall of fire, focused straight though the many trees in the path of the adventurers and into the clearing.  
  
"Uh-Oh..." Natalie looked around.  
  
"Looks like that will work rather well." Tozam said, oblivious to Natalie's horrified expression. "In a few moments, the fire should clear a path. Everyone, get ready to fight!"  
  
"I am always ready for battle, Friend Tozam." Preen heaved his shield and sword into place.   
  
"As am I." Raid pulled her bow out and notched an arrow.   
  
Cathim looked to Preen.  
  
"You go first, I'm right behind you."  
  
"Guys..." Natalie took a step back.  
  
"Uhhh, Natalie... You're in the way. After you drop the fire wall, we need to rush in with the element of surprise.  
  
"Have any of you ever heard of the Wild Fire of Viz-Yohar Forest in the southlands?"  
  
"Yes," Preen answered, slightly puzzled. "Over a thousand leagues of forest were destroyed by flame because some stupid apprentice mage tried to use a fire wa..." Realization struck.  
  
"Should we be running?" Raid asked.  
  
"Oh... As fast as you can..." Natalie stammered, turning around.  
  
"AGGHHH!!!" Tozam leaped forward, diving straight into the flaming woods (which had thinned out slightly) and running into the clearing.  
  
"OH! BUGGA!!! YOU...YOU...WRONG WAY YOU IDIOT!!! AGH!" Cathim shook his head. "Can we do this whole 'restore balance to the world' thing without him?"  
  
"I very much doubt it, Necromancer." Natalie answered, fear thrown aside in exchange for both awe and distaste for how foolishly heroic Tozam was for charging into the fire.  
  
Raid sighed.  
  
She hated to admit it, but that large fool was really begin to grow on her.  
  
"Okay...Let's go get him."  
  
----------------------  
  
"HIYYAAA! OUAAA!!! SHIIIAAAAA!! HIIYAAAA!!"  
  
'Upper-left chop, right-side kick, straight thrust, down-ward slash.' Elric was beginning to learn the assassin's moves rather quickly, allowing him to side step and dodge more efficiently.  
  
She was good, this Viz-Jaq'taar, only now beginning to show any sign of strain or weariness. It was likely that she had been training her entire life to reach this level of skill, coordination, and aerobic fitness.   
  
But, she was still, after all, only human.  
  
Elric, though he hated to admit it, was still just half.   
  
Even with the relatively short nap and previous exhaustion, he possessed a stamina that had been forged in the hellish home of his demonic heritage.   
  
He hoped that he could wear this talented warrioress down and get her understand that he meant no harm.   
  
"You know...(Dodge right slash)...This really...(Dodge lunging kick)...Isn't the best...(Dodge left swing)...Idea at a time like this. (Duck high thrust) You really should keep your voice down, otherwise..."  
  
"STAY STILL MONSTER!" The assassin shouted, sweating due to this ongoing physical exhertion.   
  
"Why? So that you can hit me?" Elric scoffed, "Sorry, I don't take request that involve me getting hurt."  
  
The assassin jumped back for a moment, still breathing heavily from her attacks.  
  
"What..." She slumped slightly, her breathing suddenly becoming louder and more labored. "What are you? You're far too intelligent to be some demon underling."  
  
"My name is Elric." Elric watched the assassin cautiously, wondering why she had stopped so suddenly. "Elric Tasslewind. And thanks. It's not too often that anybody notices that."  
  
"You didn't answer my question, 'Thing'." She reiterated, adding a bit of venom to her voice. "WHAT are you!?"  
  
Elric hesitated at this question for a moment, thinking about an answer that might not start the attack over again.  
  
Though Elric had no problem killing and eating (since he was part demon, he didn't think of it as cannibalizing) humans that deserved it, he really wasn't in the mood for human food. And on top of that, if he killed this woman, whom he felt would hold no ill against him if she understood who he was, the demon within him would have something to lord over him.  
  
"I am that of two worlds which belongs in neither." Elric said, repeating a saying that Old Dominic had made just for referring to him. "I am a Half-Demon."  
  
The assassin's eyes, which Elric could now distinguish as being a pale brown, went wide.  
  
"Find the horned stone and from that place, one with the body of an enemy and the soul of a friend shall befall you most unexpectedly." She whispered, loosening up and allowing her muscles to relax.  
  
About now, Elric's eyes fell to the assassin's left hand, which now held a small, unremarkable device that would have escaped most human observers. He, however, could feel the tingle of magic from the small device.  
  
It was a magical trap.  
  
She had backed up so that she could distract him by talking and use it on him... clever.  
  
Also, dispute concentrating to hear her voice, he suddenly caught an ill-favored scent in the air.  
  
"I'll be damned. The traveler was right..." She said, her voice only a bit above a whisper. "Then, he must have also been right about..."  
  
A shrill whistle cut though the dank air of the early night.   
  
"DOWN!!" Elric dived at the assassin, moving much quicker than before and taking her by surprise. In the fraction of a second between realizing the half-demon was leaping at her and actually striking the ground with the weight of the wolf-sized beast atop her, she berated herself for being wrong. She knew that this mistake would be her last. This would be the end of her story... the end of her service. She readied herself to activate the device in her hand, hoping to at least take this beast with her.  
  
However, the moment that the three black-shafted arrows embedded themselves in the ground, stuck out at an angel that indicated they would have been lodged in her back, she realized the truth.  
  
This...'Thing'...had just saved her life.  
  
In an instant, the half-demon bounded off of the assassin, running on all fours and at full tilt in the direction of the arrows.  
  
She spent a moment, marveling at the incredible grace and agility of the half-demon named Elric as it nimbly maneuvered from side to side, dodging strike after strike from the vile rangers who had made their first attack from a group of gathered boulders.  
  
Before long, he was up the hill and behind the boulders.  
  
Shrill screams...howls of rage and fear came from behind those large standing rocks, followed by a loud, almost lion-like, roar that would have likely deafened anyone too close. A moment later, during the gibbering that sounded similar to battle, she watched a long trail of blood jet out from a space between two rocks and splatter onto the ground. A moment later, a round, spherical object resembling a human head went flying up into the air and landed with a satisfying crack on the top of the rocks.  
  
Then it was over.  
  
A few more minutes passed before a human figure, tanned and wearing stone gray clothes stained in blood stepped out from behind the boulders.  
  
"You still with me down there, Viz-Jaq'taar?" Elric asked, his now human tongue feeling sluggish and swollen between his no longer sharp teeth (A normal feeling anytime he changed his shape).  
  
Elric looked about in surprise.  
  
The small field, including the space where he had been sleeping only a while before, was empty. All that remained of the Viz-Jaq'tarr was the torch that she had been carrying.  
  
"Awww, Man!" Elric pounded his fist against the boulder, unconsciously looking over and making sure that none of the broken and bloody corpse were moving. (As if there were enough pieces of them together to move.)  
  
"I hate this stupid 'stealth ninja' stuff."  
  
'Forget stupid girl!' His demon-mind suddenly surfaced, brought on by the scent of blood and the taste of gory victory. As usual, it began by making it's demand.   
  
'Stupid girl useless unless served as meat! We want blood! We demand sacrifice! BATTLE! RIP! TEAR..SHRED! FEAST!!!!'  
  
"Man... I have got to stop drinking that tea." Elric shook his head, slightly disgusted with himself. "You have been having WAYYY too much caffeine."  
  
'It is correct about one thing.' His calculating human mind came in, 'Forget the Viz-Jaq'taar for now. We have a much bigger fish to fry.'  
  
'Blood-Raven!' The demon reminded Elric. 'Feed us...Blood-Raven.'  
  
"First thing's first." Elric said, getting the feeling that, as sometimes happened, his human and demonic interest were agreed upon one thing.  
  
"We go in human. It'll distract less attention." He looked around, figuring South-West as well as he could. "Then, in the graveyard...We let loose."  
  
'Agreed.'  
  
'KILLLLLLLL!!! BLOOD-RAVEN DIES TONIGHT!!!'  
  
Starting off in a jog toward the south-west, in the direction that Kashya had indicated the Burial Grounds to be, Elric muttered just one last thing before abandoning himself to this hunt once again.  
  
"Agreed."  
  
Elric Tasslewind continued on, too preoccupied with his quest to notice the enshrouded Assassin following him, hidden just beneath the passing shadow of the moon.  
  
--------------------------  
  
A large man, nearly as large as Tozam, with bright red hair bearing a single streak of white and a large, one-handed, fanged mace stood before the ancient, ugly white tree. He was breathing hard and looked nearly exhausted, as though he had been fighting for his life.  
  
Behind him flocked more than a dozen cawing, unhappy ravens and four or five rather angry looking wolves.  
  
Before him was a bloody scene indeed. Almost a dozen wolves lie dead, broken and bloody on the ground along with more than a few bird bodies. With these noble animals were their enemies: The Yeti that had fallen at the beginning of the fight.  
  
Off to the side, even further away from the ugly, gnarled white tree, were nine more yeti, taking advantage of this sudden lull in the combat and an interest in the group of stupid humans that just came barreling though the magical fire wall.  
  
"OWOWOWOWOWOW!!! HOT-HOT-HOT-HOT!!!" Tozam danced around for a moment, trying to overcome the extreme heat he had just passed though.  
  
"OKAY! NOW THAT'S IT!" Raid came bursting though the fire wall, her outfit and face slightly blackened from the ordeal. "MY HAIR IS SINGED!!! DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I GO THOUGH TO GET THIS PONY TAIL LOOKING THIS GOOD?!"  
  
Preen and Cathim passed though along side Natalie, who walked slowly though the fire about a full minute later without a hair out of place or a single complaint of discomfort. They merely sized up the situation and took up arms, ready to fight against the yeti.   
  
"By nature's name..." The red-headed warrior, who bore the emblem of the wolf on his studded leather armor, looked to the newcomers with confusion.  
  
"ARRGGGGG!" The largest of the yeti, stepped forward, beating on his chest and showing it's teeth.  
  
"Tree-Head Wood-Fist owns this wood! Mistress want me bring her this white wood! IT my wood!" It shouted in a crude, horribly rough interpretation of common mixed with grunts and groans. "Men die! No men beat Tree-Head! All men Die in Tree-Head's woods! WE KILL MEN IN MY WOOD!!! IN TREE-HEAD'S WOOD!!!"  
  
A long, slender wooden shaft suddenly appeared between the yeti's eyes, allowing a small drop of blood to fall before the beast crumpled into a heap on the ground.   
  
The other Yeti looked down to the ground  
  
"I was wondering when you would get around to doing that." Cathim said sardonically. "I never thought that he would shut up."  
  
"You see," Raid said sweetly, lowering her bow, "I just saved all of your guy's lives."  
  
"No bonus on treasure, Raid." Tozam told her, "When he said 'men' he meant 'humans'. Not just males."  
  
"Awwwwww..."  
  
"HAI AKARAT!!" Preen charged forward, boldly running into the eight remaining yeti with a feverish zeal. Striking at each of them in rapid succession while fluidly moving in and out to deflect blows from the beasts' heavy fist.  
  
"That idiot!" Raid shouted, trying to find a fixed target for her bow. "He's in the way!"  
  
"Is that a problem?" Cathim asked.  
  
"Tozam! Cathim! Help Preen take down the yeti! Raid and I will get the inscription!"  
  
"Maybe we should just put him on a leash." Cathim shouted, turning to the field of dead animals and monsters and beginning another kind of magic. "It would make things soooo much easier."  
  
Despite the fact that he hadn't done it in a while, The priest of Rathma had little trouble slipping his will into the spectral realm beyond the reach of most humans and calling forth restless spirits to aid his cause.  
  
A moment later, with Tozam charging in to help Preen dispatch the beasts, Cathim threw his hands skyward, using his own, considerable mana to tear a hole in the veil between the worlds of the living and the realms of the dead. The corpse of the monsters and the beast swelled until they exploded outward, revealing the horrific and blood covered bones that swirled about, relocating and reforming in every why imaginable until, at last, they settled in place and were brought to un-life by the dedicated necromancer.  
  
From the corpses of both the vile monsters and noble beast, Cathim managed to conjure out six skeletal warriors, complete with bone axes, swords, and shields.  
  
With his part of this battle completed, Cathim gave them a single command.  
  
"Kill the yeti only. No others."  
  
In the short time that it took for the Necromancer to raise his skeletal host, Preen and Tozam hand managed to fell two of the yeti, but were quickly tiring under the constant and erratic movement of the remaining six. At a this point, Tozam would have normally gone into a battle fury and started wailing on anything that came within reach. Unfortunately, Preen was now covering his backside and was well within that reach limit.   
  
The two were at first awestruck by the sudden intervention of six, bone-white human skeletons. Fearless, and without any concern for their own well being, the magically summoned warriors leaped into the fray without mercy and began their own gruesome work on the battle. What they lacked in overall organization and intelligence, these unnatural warriors made up in sheer single-minded voracity.  
  
Preen however, did not seem to realize that the skeletons were on their side.  
  
" SPAWN OF HELL!!!" The paladin shouted over the din, thrusting his hand toward a single skeleton that had just finished off one of the offending monsters. "RETURN FROM WHENCE YE CAME!"  
  
A flaring white light came to life in the paladin's hand and launched itself straight on into the horrific undead. Almost an instant from the moment the light reached it, the entire skeleton fell apart. Bones became simple bones once again and all trace of life faded as they crumbled into a heap on the ground.  
  
Preen nodded in satisfaction before turning around to realize that a much more dangerous monstrosity was upon him.  
  
"URARRRRAAA!" The enormous, white furred yeti struck out, grabbing hold of the paladin's neck and heaving the squirming warrior into the air.  
  
Preen had never seen anyone hanged before, but he could now imagine what it must have felt like as the brute's enormous hand continued to put pressure on one of the most important area's of his body.  
  
The creature grinned a horrible grin as it squeezed, likely believing that, with the death of this stupid human, it would grow stronger. Strong enough to defeat these other weaklings that would dare to challenge it. The leader was dead, that meant that he, as the slayer of the human warrior, could take charge of the remainder of the pack.  
  
The daydream was interrupted and the grin changed into an expression of pure horror as the yeti suddenly realized that a long blade had somehow found it's way into his back and had burst out of his front side. The grip released and the paladin fell to the ground as the last of the yeti's blood gushed out and stained the monster's fur.  
  
"Ahhh.." Preen took a much need breath of air as the barbarian jerked his blood soaked blade from the corpse of the yeti. "My thanks, noble warrior.For coming to my aid." Preen heaved himself to his feet. "Now, we must continue to... OW!"  
  
Tozam smacked the overconfident zakarum disciple in the back of the head.  
  
"You bloody fool!" He looked down on the paladin. "You nearly got yourself killed! And for what? For attacking an ally?"  
  
"An undead monstrosity can hardly be called an..." Preen trailed off, suddenly noticing that the three remaining skeletons were standing perfectly still. "What are they doing?"  
  
"What I tell them to do." Cathim walked up behind Preen, making the paladin jump slightly. "Don't forget that you are traveling with a necromancer, Preen. I do far more than wave around a dagger and wand."  
  
"They should all be destroyed!" Preen looked around, nothing short of pure loathing on his face.  
  
"Well then," Cathim looked around, indifferent to what was likely going thought the paladin's mind. "You better get busy."  
  
Cathim looked around to the stationary skeletons.  
  
"Boys, I want you all to spar with our friend Preen here until none of you are left standing. Be sure not to hurt him to badly, but whatever else you do, make it difficult for him."  
  
Three skeleton skulls turned in unison to lay their empty eyes on the paladin while Tozam (following Cathim's lead) stepped away and went to check on Natalie and Raid's progress.  
  
"How is he?" Tozam asked when they came close enough to the white tree, taking more than a little satisfaction from the sound of bone on steel behind him.   
  
The man they had seen guarding the tree before did not seem in the best of shape. Laying up against the gnarled tree, he looked battle-weary, exhausted, and hungry. All around him, the wolves sat and waited, ignoring Natalie, who was tending him and letting him rest while she tried to administer a healing potion. Rain, on the other hand, was trying to get the birds away.  
  
"GO ON! SHOO!! Stupid crows! GET LOST!!!"   
  
Needless to say, she was not doing a very good job.  
  
"My thanks, Zann Esu." The red-haired man said, laying his head back as the healing potion took effect. Looking around at this strange group, the warrior was not sure whether to feel relived or panicked.  
  
Then he saw something in particular that he recognized.  
  
He looked up to Tozam in awe and surprise.  
  
"You!" He said, struggling (and with help from Natalie) to get to his feet.  
  
"You are of Mount Arreat. Of what tribe?"   
  
Tozam was both surprised and curious.   
  
Nobody south of the Entsteig River, southernmost boarder of the barbarian homeland, had ever asked him of his tribe. Of his party, only Cathim even had an idea of the social structure of the peoples of the north. And that was only because they had met though Nihlathak, a priest of Rathma who was welcome and respected in the city of Horrogoth.   
  
However, after a few moments of awkward silence, Tozam was able to guess how this man, so similar to him in size and structure, knew of the ways of the northlands.  
  
"I am Tozam! Son of Qual-Kehk of the Tribe of the Shadow Wolf and Morth'diad of the Tribe of the Bear. I am a son of Horrogoth and the great Mt. Arreat." Tozam brought a fist to his chest in traditional salute to a relative.  
  
"And you, sir, are a descendant of the people of Fiacla-Gear. A follower of the ways of Caoi Dulra from the forest of Scosglen. You, cousin, are a druid."  
  
"Aye." The druid nodded, an amused smile on his face. "It is good to know that the children of King Bul-Kathos have not lost their sense of history in the passing of the millenia."  
  
"Our duty and our history is all that we have." Tozam shot back.  
  
"Indeed. Then the path of Bul-Kathos is as strong now as it was in olden times when it was first put forth." The druid looked around at the others, including a sweaty and tired looking southerner wearing shining armor who had just now come up behind the other warriors.  
  
"I am Durom, of the family of Howling Wolf. Druid of the third order of Tur Dulra, The Druid College of Glor-an-Fhaidha, the oak tree of guildance."  
  
"well..." Raid said, getting bored with the conversation, half of which she didn't even understand. "That's great, you know. Maybe we can have a family reunion later, but first..."  
  
"We came seeking the Tree of Inifuss." Natalie picked up where Raid ended. "This tree, I believe. We need the writings on the bark."  
  
"I am truly sorry then..." Durom said, taking a step closer to the tree. "I am under strict orders to not allow anyone to touch this creature until I have discovered it's secrets."  
  
" 'Creature?'" Preen looked to the druid in disgust. "It is a cold, hard, lifeless tree."  
  
More than a few of the wolves, who had been laying by, indifferent to the humans around them, suddenly leaped to their feet, bearing teeth and growling at the paladin.  
  
Durom's scowling expression was about the human equivalent to those snarls.   
  
"Had you and yours not just saved the lives of myself and my companions, not to mention the life of this glorious being," He gestured to the tree, "I would strike you down where you stand."  
  
"Hey...I like this guy." Cathim said.  
  
"Thank you, Dubhdroiacht." Durom nodded to the necromancer.  
  
"Your welcome." Cathim replied, then turned and asked Tozam: "What does Dubhdroiacht mean?"  
  
" 'Magic-User outside nature'. It is the druid's way of acknowledging any other-worldly magic."  
  
"Ohhhh..."  
  
"I'm sorry. Why can't we get a rubbing of the tree?" Natalie asked, feeling that they were wasting valuable time. "We don't want to peel off it's bark or anything. We just need to get the inscription right behind you."  
  
"My apologies, Mistress of Zann Esu. But I have orders from the Head of the Third Order that came directly from the orders of the Grand Order of Druids to uncover the magical powers inscribed into the Tree of Inifuss and, if necessary, protect it with my life."   
  
"Uh-huh...." Raid was still bored. "So, your order was ordered to follow the orders of a higher order, Right?"  
  
"Yes. Until I discover the secrets of this tree, I must guard it from anyone and everyone."  
  
Natalie sighed. She was tired of this.  
  
"The inscription is a handbook to activate a magical portal that is supposed to open the gateway between the Stoney Field and the township of Tristram. I don't care what your orders are and who gave them too you. The life of a very important person is in the balance and I will go though you to get to him if I have to!" She said, her tone lending a sense of finality to her words.  
  
Durom was struck speechless.  
  
"Oh... Is that all?" He looked to the tree, and shook his head. "Well, thank you. I've been out here for weeks trying to figure this inscription out, but I haven't had any luck whatsoever."  
  
"If you want, Cousin Durom," Tozam ante up and decided to help this whole thing go faster. "We wish to take the inscription to a priestess who can translate it. You may come if you wish and see for yourself the purpose this fine tree serves."  
  
Durom spent a moment considering the offer.   
  
"I suppose my mission is now at it's end, now that I know the secret of the Tree of Inifuss. And it has been some time since I have had a decently prepared meal." He gave Tozam a pat on the shoulder.   
  
"Lead the way, Tozam, son of Qual-Kehk."  
  
"Finally!" Natalie rushed up to the tree, pulling out a scroll of parchment and a wax rubbing crayon. Gently, she rubbed the impression into the paper. Then, satisfied that it would be easy enough to read for a translation, she put the newly made scroll of Inifuss away and pulled out the scroll Elric had made for her.   
  
"Well," Cathim asked, "Are we going to start heading back or not. It is a two day journey back to the rogue encampment to meet up with Elric."  
  
"No it isn't." Natalie said, undoing the seal and unrolling the scroll.   
  
No sooner than it had been opened. The scroll caught fire, surprising all, including Natalie who dropped the scroll. In a moment, the fire turned blue, then shot upward and spread out into a circle. Finally, the entire thing solidified into standing circle of what looked like the purest blue water.  
  
"What in the names of..." Tozam started.  
  
"A town portal." Natalie said simply, hurrying to step though it. "It will take us back to the Rogue Encampment. But hurry, it only last thirty seconds." She stepped though, disappearing into the swirling blue circle.  
  
Swiftly, but cautiously, the others followed. Finding that once they stepped though the portal, they found themselves standing right in the heart of the Rogue Encampment.   
  
"Whoa...." Tozam marveled watching as Preen, the last of them to come though, stepped though only a moment before the portal disappeared into nothingness.   
  
"Good thing none of the merchants here know about that...whoever controlled it would control all trade."  
  
-------------------------  
  
Elric Tasslewind stood, as a man, before the twisted, Iron Black Gate of the Monastery Burial Grounds. The scent of foul magic, the undead, and innocent blood filled his nostrils, forcing him into a horrifying state of arousment.  
  
'Our quarry lies within.' Elric's demon side whispered in his mind, making Elric unconsciously lick his lips. 'Vengeance is ours!'  
  
"NOT VENGEANCE!!!" Elric said quickly, biting his tongue in the snap instant to answer the demon's claim. "Justice!"  
  
'Do you still take seriously the words of the Arch-Bishop, Elric?' The human mind interrupted. 'Whether he was right or not is irrelevant. We have no need to justify...'  
  
"QUITE!!!" Elric called for silence in his head, willed the two facets of his personality to remain dormant. He had already decided that this course of action was his path. He could not question the ethics of what he did now.  
  
His task was set.  
  
And he would stop at nothing to see it thought.  
  
Gingerly... He stepped forward, into the monastery graveyard.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
POST!  
  
TIME!!! (Looks at clock)   
  
Friday May 21st, 5:50pm.  
(Reloaded Wednesday May 26th to correct spelling and content errors)  
Okay, the laptop crisis has officially reached a peak. Now, I have a question:  
  
"Does anyone else have a problem with Dell that they would like to discuss?"  
  
Let's see, The chapter is up...What else to say.  
  
Well, The next chapter will be amazingly short by my standards and should be up before Wednesday. In the event that it is not, expect a double post on Friday of next wee  
  
Next Chapter: Blood Raven  
  
Elric comes face to face with the butcher of the Rogue Monastery.   
  
Let's see...This is normally the part where I plead and beg for R&R...soooooooooo:  
  
(gets on knees) PLZ....PLZ READ AND REVIEW!!! I HAVE TO HAVE MORE...MORE DO YOU HEAR ME!!! MOOOOOORRRREEEE BRRRAAIIINNSSS.... uhhh, I mean... REVIEWS"  
  
Thank you for listening...er....reading my ramblings.  
  
Signing off-Robin (Not related to the Bird or the Leader of the Teen Titans) Shirewood.


	10. Chapter 9: Blood Raven

Diablo II: The Epic Behind the Game  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo II, I, or anything else that blizzard created. In fact, some of my dialog comes directly from the game, for accuracy purposes only. The Characters however are of my own design, directly from my chars on Battle.net  
  
Sorry folks. No jokes, poems, or snazzy comments this week. This part of the story is far too important to me to play around.  
  
So with no a due whatsoever, here it is.  
  
Warning: Content WILL NOT be suitable for all readers. Self-discretion is advised.  
  
The Rogue Burial Grounds:  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"My lady Blood Raven." A scout of the New Sisterhood approached the newest general of the armies of Hell deep in the catacombs of the Ancestral Cemetery.  
  
But the general was in no mood for interruptions.  
  
"Speak quietly, dear sister." The annoyed Blood Raven ordered in a hushed tone. "The forces gifted to me for this task are beyond your comprehension. A single distraction could tear the fabric of this reality and blend the physical realm with the spirit world. Surely, you do not wish to cause such a setback before our noble mission is complete."  
  
"Forgive me, My lady Blood Raven. But I bring word from our mistress of the Monastery."  
  
This caught Blood Raven's attention. Immediately, she hushed the power that she had been granted, the power to pull the most depraved of souls from the underworld into the service of her mistress, and turned with renewed interest to the scout. Andariel was not one to send messages in such a manner, not unless it was of great importance.  
  
"What news?"  
  
"The mistress bids that you enhance the defense of the graveyard. She believes that there is a threat to your mission to destroy the remaining followers of the Eye."  
  
"PAH!" Blood Raven scoffed, wondering whether or not it would be a waste to dispose of this messenger. "I already know that the so-called 'Rogues' will attempt to lay siege to the graveyard. I let their scout escape for the singular purpose of informing them of our plan. They will come here to die with their honor intact. When they set to march, the squadrons in the Cold Plains shall dispatch as many of them as possible. If any do manage to survive the journey..." She turned away, facing the tomb of Kairais, a long dead champion of the Sightless Eye. "Then they shall have the honor of facing their own heroes in battle before they are delivered to Hell."  
  
"The mistress was most concerned." The scout added, attempting to include a sense of urgency in her voice. "She has sent a reminder that you must not fail in your duty."  
  
"I do NOT fail, underling!" Blood Raven turned in anger, arming her bow with a speed that she could have never obtained without the blessing of the Maiden of Anguish. In that single, fluid movement, the lazily raised her bow, notched an arrow, and let fly, easily impaling the impudent scout's head without so much as bothering to take aim.  
  
"And I certainly do not suffer fools." She added, turning to finish the work she had begun on the noble Kairais.  
  
Already, she had hundreds of mindless, flesh-hungry zombies roaming admist the tombstones of the surface level of the graveyard.   
  
Unless the Seraphim themselves were to break the oaths of ages past and directly intervene, failure was simply not a possibility.  
  
---------------------  
  
The yellowed-skinned archer of the New Sisterhood marched along her patrol route outside the fenced off graveyard. Though she was as loyal as any of the sisters who had witnessed first hand the overwhelming power of the Burning Hells, she was hardly satisfied with her posting as a sentry to the Mistress' lackey, Blood Raven.   
  
So many unworthy little girls, playing the parts of true warriors, had passed her by, securing places of honor as squad leaders and powerful lieutenants. As they gained ranks, they were granted gifts from she who had shown them the error of their ways. Many were granted enhanced strength and stamina, but those who had surpassed her, for no better reason than their groveling, submissive attitudes, were being gifted with powers beyond human grasp.   
  
And what did they use this power for?   
  
Sitting like fools and waiting forever to strike out and engage in battle.   
  
It was likely, in her mind, that Blood Raven, Andariel's pet, was hugging her knees in the catacombs, too afraid to give the command to go out and attack the last of the Rogues and wipe them out for good.  
  
But she, who had been turned down for command, would certainly not be afraid. She would have ordered an all out assault weeks ago. She would have personally lead the charge to tear down the hapless Rogue's stupid little fort and...  
  
Upon hearing a sudden rustling, the sentry awoke from her day dream and halted her patrol. Turning about, she readied her crossbow and listened for the sound.  
  
There it was again.  
  
It was slight, little more than a brush of something against the leaves of a nearby bush.   
  
Such shrubberies, however, were rare in this dead, lifeless place, so she had little trouble figuring that the sound was coming from the small, waist high hedge that marked the outermost boarder of the burial grounds.   
  
Slowly, the former rogue took aim with the heavy crossbow, allowing her ears to guild her to the sound, and when the shot was certain, fired the bolt with a 'twang'.  
  
A grin spread across her face as she heard a squeal from the hedge, accompanied by the sound of the bolt piercing flesh.   
  
Satisfied with this amusement that had come during the height of her boring patrol, she smugly walked over to the hedge and roughly pushed it aside to discover what she had killed.  
  
What she found was a small, fuzzy, juvenile rabbit, still twitching despite the bolt which had nailed it dead center, coming out the other side and spraying the ground with blood.  
  
Strange, she thought. When she was young, growing up in the outer cloister of The Rogue's Monastery, she abhorred hunting and killing such innocent creatures. She had refused to eat coney's, believing that they were the essence of helplessness.   
  
Now, she laughed at the creature. It's nose still twitching, showing a bit of life left in it. What a foolish child she had been, thinking that such fun was wrong.   
  
On impulse, the archer reached down and picked up the dying rabbit, bringing it to her mouth and savagely tearing a bite out of it's twisting throat. It spasmed as she pulled her head away, it's legs kicking out wildly while the head snapped back and forth.  
  
Then, the little animal went limp in her hand.   
  
Sourly, she spit out the chunk of meat in her mouth, blood dribbling down her chin, and laughed out loud.  
  
"How pathetic." She said in mock sadness, carelessly tossing the dead animal to the side. Thinking that she had deserved this little reprieve, the sentry stood back up, bringing the crossbow up with her, and turned around, ready to return to her patrol.  
  
Without knowing what had happened, the sentry suddenly found herself being thrown off of her feet. So quickly did the attack come that she was silently bore to the ground with all the force of a charging bull. The crossbow which she had been itching to use in combat was knocked from her hands and fell with a crack to the side, out of her reach.   
  
In the fraction of a second that she had to react, the corrupted sentry gazed with horror into two flaming crimson eyes surrounded by a midnight blackness.   
  
Then, she could only feel the sudden pain and pressure in her throat as a powerful set of jaws closed around it.  
  
With a single, powerful bite, the beast sitting atop her crushed every bone, severed every artery and nerve in the former sister's neck, killing her almost instantly.  
  
Without missing a breath, Elric Tasslewind unhinged his jaws and released the dead warrioress under his feet, doing all that he could to assure his human mind that she had been beyond redemption. That only by ending her life would this sentry, like so many before her, find peace.   
  
Still, as the half-demon lifted his head and stooped down, ready for his approach deeper into the heart of the graveyard, he could not shut out the thought of his demon mind:  
  
'How pathetic.'  
  
------------------------  
  
Elric watched the grounds from a distance, debating what his next move would be.   
  
On the one hand, he figured that he had dispensed with every one of the guards set to patrol the graveyard's gates. And unless Blood Raven had a small army of tainted rogues at her command in this place, he could bet that all he would have to deal with would be the lacking combative skills of the walking dead.  
  
The problem was that he had simply never seen so many walking corpse in one place. Even the Cursed King Leoric, a Death Lord, did not have control over so vast an army of the walking nightmares that mortal scholars had named 'Cibus Animatus'.  
  
Or in Layman's terms: Zombies. And lots of them.  
  
Elric guesstimated the number at around three hundred.  
  
Now, how to approach the matter?  
  
'A frontal assault would be foolish.' His calculating human mind commented, taking stock of the situation.  
  
'Well, NO FREAKING DUHHH!' The demon shot out, agitated in the sudden lull of action and blood.   
  
"Quiet!" Elric whispered, "They're not disciplined enough to be susceptible to a frontal assault anyways. Their way too far spread out. Facing all directions. Best course of action would probably be to strike hard, fast, and from all sides."  
  
'We can do that... we can take them.' The demon whispered, it's voice tempting. 'They are slow...weak. Too weak to be allowed to survive.'  
  
'Too many! There are simply too many.' The human mind intervened. 'We knew that coming alone would be risky. It would simply not be wise to...'  
  
Elric halted the conversation then and there. His mind made up, he pressed the soft spot on the top of his mouth and laid his tongue flat as the sharp, acidic green bile filled his mouth.  
  
The graveyard was thick with the unholy dead.  
  
But he was more than confident that he would be able to thin it out.  
  
Without another thought or sound, Elric leaped out of his hiding place, spewing a thin stream of acid at the closest gathering of zombies and barreling into another group with claws ready.  
  
----------------  
  
"Rise up and serve your new masters!" Blood Raven threw her arms in the air, feeling the adrenaline, the rush, the pure thrill of breaking the laws of nature and death. The noble rogue's corpse twitched wildly as the unyielding and corrupted soul of a murderer was forced into it. It was difficult to summon a zombie from a noble body, but not impossible. In a moment, yet another soldier would be added to her army. "Rise up and live... RISE UP AND..."  
  
"MY LADY!! MY LADY!" A nameless, frightened looking guard ran up, casually hopping over the corpse of the scout that had died earlier, to her commander, breaking Blood Raven's concentration and loosening her hold over both the corpse and the damned soul. Nearly swooning from the abrupt breaking of her power, Blood Raven lost her balance and had to grab hold of the raised coffin in order to keep her footing. A sense of powerlessness pervaded her mind as the General of Hell watched her work become undone. Without a strong will to direct it, the corrupted soul ravaged the dead rogue's body, tearing it apart and exploding the corpse, making it impossible to raise it from the dead. Over a quarter of an hour's work... Wasted!   
  
"You have three seconds to explain yourself before I let you join that one!" Blood Raven shouted in anger, ripped between mourning her untimely failure and the urge to rip this guard's limps out and feed them to her.   
  
"My Lady!" The sister was breathless, "We are under attack!"   
  
"WHAT!?" This threw Blood Raven off.   
  
The Rogue's couldn't have possibly organized the counter-attack so soon. And even so, the zombies outside should have overwhelmed their tiny fighting force.  
  
"All of the other perimeter guards have been killed. And 'something' is decimating the zombie forces."  
  
"'Something?'" Blood Raven's eyes were wide. The guards she had placed at the perimeter may not have been the best that their newly reformed Sisterhood had, but they couldn't have been this incompetent. They would have sounded alarms immediately if any of the patrols had found anything, even if they were under attack and outnumbered. Whoever had done this could have only slipped past them alone. But none of the remaining rogues, not even their newly elected Battle-Eagle, Kashya, were talented enough to make it past the guards alone.   
  
"Who is left?" Blood Raven asked the guard, who she now recognized as the one who had been put outside the mausoleum she had been working in.   
  
"Yourself, me, and the undead, My Lady." The guard answered, still obviously distressed. "I was atop the mausoleum when the attack on the zombie mass became apparent. That 'thing' outside is tearing them to pieces."  
  
"Thing?" Blood Raven had regained her footing now and roughly pushed her way past the guard, running with all speed to see for herself what was going on. The loyal guard was right at her commander's heels until they came to the steps leading to the roof of the Burial Ground's Mausoleum. Quickly skipping up them, Blood Raven reached the top, threw open the trap door, and heaved herself up onto the slanted one story roof in record time.   
  
What she saw came to her as an ultimate shock.  
  
The zombies, moaning and groaning in their unique, unintelligible way, where all massing in the center of the graveyard, 'Urrr'-ing and 'Uhhh'-ing in their narrow minded attempts to get at the bit of living flesh that had become the epicenter of their focus.  
  
What they were all too stupid to realize was that everything that reached the center of the mass was almost instantly cut down. Old, blackened blood soaked the ground and many zombies quite literally had tripped over the ragged, broken bodies of their brethren.   
  
In the very center, causing all of the chaos, was a single, black, wolf-sized, lizard- like creature. It moved constantly and erratically to keep the undead at bay, slashing heads, limbs, and entire sections of the torsos cleanly off of the rest of the bodies. So fast and furious were the actions of this single being, that it was able to aptly compensate against the obvious advantages of overwhelming numbers.  
  
"Well, well..." Blood Raven shook her head and chuckled, amused by this bizarre twist of fate. "So he comes to see me, just as promised."  
  
"My Lady, What are your orders?" The guard asked, still slightly out of breath.   
  
"First," Blood Raven turned, still throughly annoyed by the guard who had interrupted her. "I order you to lie very, very still on the ground."  
  
"My lady???"  
  
Quicker than the guard could react, the commander reached over, grabbed her wrist, and with all the strength that Andariel had bestowed upon her, Blood Raven heaved the guard over the side and bashed her body into the outer, spiked wall of the mausoleum. After repeating the action a few times and making herself satisfied that the impolite guard was completely dead, she dropped the body unceremoniously to the ground.  
  
"Well, that was certainly satisfying." She said before looking back to the chaos of the battle.   
  
From the looks of it, the rogue half-demon had killed at least a hundred of her standing zombie attack force. At this pace, he would likely decimate the entire army in less than an hour.  
  
And she couldn't allow that.  
  
Carefully, Blood Raven brought her bow to bear and pulled a very special arrow from the hidden quiver that she wore on her hip.  
  
"And I thought that I would never have to use this." She said, notching the arrow and taking stock of the aim.  
  
The half-demon was moving far to quickly and unpredictably for her to make a kill shot to the head, she knew that. Any shots at the body or limbs could be easily pulled out by the stout hearted beast or might be reflected by the ever moving, heavily armored and bladed tail.   
  
But that didn't stop her from taking aim, for she knew exactly where to strike.  
  
She knew that Elric, for all of his combat prowess, stamina, and strength, had a horrifically vital blind spot right between his shoulders. What was best was that he didn't defend it and couldn't cover it without sacrificing his much needed mobility.  
  
So, she took her cleansing breath and made sure that she had the shot.  
  
Then, Blood Raven let the alchemical silver arrow fly.  
  
-------------------  
  
'Told you we could handle it!' The demon spat at the other two areas of Elric's mind. 'They are weak and worthless. Not even good sport!'  
  
The more practical portion of Elric's mind, realizing just how dangerous their situation was.  
  
'KEEP MOVING, KEEP MOVING! DUCK IN LEFT SIDE! STRIKE OUT RIGHT!!! FLANK IS OPEN! FLANK IS OPEN!!!'  
  
"SHUT UP ALREADY!" Elric shouted out in anxiety, trying not to lose his concentration on the task at hand.   
  
They came in at all sides and bore down on him constantly. If he missed so much as a single strike, Elric knew that he could safely count the battle as his last. His fore-legs and tail, already sore from the past few days of battle, now throbbed painfully. His joints, as tough and flexible as they were, ached in a way that he had not felt for months.   
  
Since his time at Tristram, Elric had not been in 'constant' battle. He had fought against his fair share of monsters since then, but in all of that time he had always had time between them to rest and recuperate.  
  
Those minor skirmishes had been fun for him.  
  
Now, he was fighting for his life.  
  
Twisting around wildly, Elric sliced though a full rank of the walking dead, piling their carcasses atop the other defeated monsters. Still they came on mindlessly. Fearless of their impending doom.   
  
Elric snarled, cutting another zombies' legs out from under her.  
  
He couldn't stand creatures that lived without fear. They simply weren't natural. Anything that was worth keeping alive should have a need to preserve that life, otherwise it was a waste.  
  
Then, Elric's pointed, wolf-like ears perked up.  
  
In the insane, constant groaning of the attacking zombies, he heard a familiar sound.  
  
Realization dawned on him, forcing him to thrust his head up, trying to see where the arrow was coming from.  
  
He twisted around, trying to find it.  
  
PAIN!!!!  
  
A burning, searing heat tore through the scales on his back. Too high to affect any of his vital organs. What then...  
  
Everything started to sway in Elric's vision. All of the enclosing zombies were moving as if in slow motion. Panicking at the sudden change of pace, Elric tried to turn about. Bring his tail back in a vicious, cutting cycle of death.  
  
But his movements were...sluggish. His muscles were spasming beyond his control, refusing his attempts to mobilize.   
  
Everything was spinning. Elric couldn't focus.  
  
And the Pain...  
  
This was no normal wound.  
  
Then he felt a great weight taking him from the side as a zombie barreled into him. He tried, in vain, to throw the undead monstrosity off, but was far too overcome by his injury.  
  
A moment later, another of the walking dead rushed into him, bringing Elric to the ground and beginning a horrific version of the 'Dog-pile'.  
  
Elric had difficulty seeing, hearing, or even feeling what was going on. One thing that he knew for certain was that whatever had hit him was no ordinary arrow.  
  
The human that was in him tried not to panic and he demon howled and roared in anger. He tried to release that frustration, to roar... or call out, though he was not certain whether or not he actually did roar. or even if he could.   
  
It was like everything was shifting around uncontrollably. Everything... the zombies on top of him, the ground underneath him... time itself.  
  
Nothing was making sense anymore.  
  
He could feel the weight lifting, but was paralyzed, unable to react. He could feel himself drifting in and out of consiousness... or maybe in and out of death.  
  
Limply, unable to move, he laid there. Damning this course of action. If only he had come in another way. Or hadn't been so blinded by his need to see justice done.  
  
The others would be waiting for him to find the Carin Stones, but he would not be able to send the portal.  
  
Saddened and helpless, he simply waited for death to claim him.  
  
"Well, the bold, tragic hero to the rescue. As always," A familiar voice rang out clearly over the silence of the half-demon's twisting perception. He barely noticed the sudden pain in his back again, but after a moment, realized that his senses were beginning to clear.   
  
The spinning slowed to a light twist. And his eyes began to focus.  
  
With great pain, Elric managed to force his eyes slightly upward to see the speaker. Standing over him was a red-headed young woman, fair and soft. Deceptively innocent with an air of grace surrounding her every move.  
  
"Isn't that right, Dear Elric?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and appearing amused.  
  
"Alisa?" Elric was shocked.  
  
His friend from Tristram, who had fought with him against Diablo himself, had come to his rescue. She had...  
  
No....  
  
Something was wrong. Something...different.  
  
She appeared the same as she always had, except now, instead of the traditional armor of the Rogue Sisterhood, she wore a blackened armor based on the same design. Cold and harsh, the armor that encased the talented bow-woman reeked of arcane magic... a demonic corruption.  
  
"Alisa?" She laughed, again amused. "Oh, come now, Dear Elric. I haven't gone by that name for months. Not since we re-took what was rightfully ours." Her lips, normally so full and lush, twisted into a maniacal grin.   
  
"I am called Blood Raven now by my superiors. And Master by my underlings."  
  
Elric couldn't believe what he was hearing.  
  
"Alisa!" He tried his damnedest to force himself to his feet, pushing every muscle he had into the task with abandon.  
  
Then the pain flared again, a new wound torn open in his shoulder, bringing him back to the ground. After a moment of intense, searing pain, it lifted once again, leaving the normal sting of a wound on his scales.  
  
"Now, now. We can't have that, can we?"  
  
"What...?" Elric tried to think and speak though the daze, which was now renewing itself. "How...?"  
  
"A trick I learned from you, as it were." Blood Raven said, bringing into his sight range a long, iron shafted arrow with a bright silver tip.  
  
Even in his condition, Elric recognized that cursed metal.  
  
Alchemical Silver...Demon's Bane!  
  
"The same way you beat The Butcher in Tristram. Very clever. Allowing him to think he had me, then impaling him with that horadric spear coated in silver." She patted Elric on the head, between his horns. "Thanks for the lesson."  
  
"Why...?" Elric had never been 'heart-broken' in the human definition of the word. But what disappointment, even loathing that he was feeling must have been somewhat attributed to that.  
  
If this was the price of trusting another, then it was little wonder that so many humans were so cold and unforgiving.  
  
"How...could...you...?  
  
Blood Raven's smile faded, replaced by a grimace. Then, bringing the arrow up like a knife in her hand, she placed the point (which smoked and burned Elric's scales on contact) between his eyes and drew a rough line down his snout, ending at his upper lip, which was curled back in pain. He knew, without even examining the wound, that he would carry the scar for the rest of his life... not that it would have time to turn into a scar of course.  
  
"WHY!?" She said as she did it, "Because we were fools, Elric. We didn't accomplish ANYTHING! I lost far too many sisters who I counted as 'friends' because of my misguided sense of morality and honor!" She ended the line and lifted the arrow again, letting out a weak laugh. "Despite all the pain and suffering that we went though, everyone in Tristram still died. Nothing could prevent it, nothing could stand in the demon's way. Well, I was soooo tired of being on the wrong side of an ever losing battle. So when I offered myself to the Mistress, she accepted without hesitation."  
  
"You know, for the longest time, I envied you, Elric." She said blankly, dropping the blood-stained silver arrow to the ground in front of the half-demon.   
  
"Your strength, your conviction, how you refused to submit to what you must have wanted so badly. Despite all that the other adventurers put you though...Dispite all that WE put you though! I thought that all you wanted was peace, acceptance. That ALL you wanted was to help!" She kicked out, pushing Elric's head aside and drawing out a yelp. "Then I realized what you were really after. I didn't figure it out until later, but I figured it out!"  
  
She paused for a moment and spat in Elric's face, barely pulling a twitch from the exhausted, paralyzed half-demon.  
  
"Lazarus was right." She said simply. "That's what scared you so much."   
  
But the ice cold meaning of those words tore into Elric worse than anything else that she could do with the Silver arrow. At that moment, his eyes flared red and, had it not been for the devastating effects of the silver, he would have leaped forward and ripped her throat out, after feasting on her entrails while she watched, of course.  
  
"You're WRONG!" He hissed, his words barely making it into common due to his animalistic growling.  
  
"Am I?" Blood Raven said, standing up and looking down on him. "Then, ask yourself this one question while my zombies tear you apart. 'Which would you rather have: My head on a golden plate, or your humanity?'"  
  
Elric snarled, unable to talk.   
  
Not that he really had an answer that she would find surprising.  
  
"You try so hard, Elric. Too hard." She looked down on the half-demon. "And for that, I am willing to be merciful, my friend."  
  
She turned about, facing the legions of undead that had been standing obediently to the side, allowing their master her moment.  
  
"FEAST MY CHILDREN!"  
  
With happy moaning (If a zombie 'can' be happy), the creature started slowly staggering forward. Blood Raven, turned back to Elric, ready to watch the swift death of this creature who had thought of her as a friend.  
  
-tek-tek-tek-tek-  
  
A small, black disc suddenly fell out of the air, bouncing along the ground like a coin before wobbling and lying still on the ground between Elric and Blood Raven.  
  
"What the...?" Blood Raven looked down, curiously kneeling to see what this black, fist sized discus was.  
  
-SNAP-  
  
She jumped back in surprise when a small pole, about a foot long, elongated from the center of the disc. On the top grew three long prongs, pointing outward from the center of the pole.  
  
-wirr-wirrr-wirrrrr-  
  
Just as suddenly, the center pole started to spin around, picking up speed with each turn until it spun too fast to distinguish any single prong.  
  
Then all hell broke loose.  
  
Small bolts of lightning flashed out from the device, spinning around and around. Blood Raven, along with any of the closest zombies, were thrown back by the shock, away from the low laying and, therefore, unaffected half-demon.   
  
From behind the huddled mass of undead, enormous waves of fire jumped up from out of nowhere from all sides, instantly incinerating most and charring many others to the point of death.  
  
In only a few minutes of the lightning and fire hell-storm, Blood Raven's entire army was toasted.  
  
Distraught, she looked down to the drugged half-demon.  
  
"WHAT MAGIC IS THIS!?" She shouted in anger, "HOW!!!!!!!"  
  
"HHIIIAAA!!!" A shout came from beyond the waves of fire as a woman dressed in a skin tight black outfit flipped over the the waves of fire, landing just as there was a calm moment, and then running just ahead of the next wave, kicking a couple of confused, brainless zombies into the flame as she went. With an almost supernatural speed, she raced past the boundaries of the fire waves, high kicked an attacking zombies' head clean off, and leaped between the General of Hell and the half-demon. As soon as she landed, the black disc which had kept Blood Raven and the zombies at bay crumbled into dust, allowing the mysterious woman to take up a martial fighting stance.  
  
Eric, still having trouble processing any information, took several moments of looking up at the assassin's back and her clawed fists before making the connection and realizing who his mysterious savior was.  
  
Seething in anger over the staggering blow that had just been dealt to her army, Blood Raven reached over, pulling her bow from her shoulder, and prepared to fire.  
  
Matching and overwhelming the archer-woman's lazy, but still exceptional speed, the Viz-Jaq'taar assassin spun around and kicked out at her.  
  
"DRAGON TAIL!" She shouted as the kick impacted against the bow. Without warning, a small explosion of energy rocked through Blood Raven's hand, jarring her and sending the powerful monster-horn bow flying though the air in pieces.  
  
"AGHH!" Blood Raven rocked back from the kick, turning slightly and allowing the momentum of the shock add to the force she put behind an arrow that she threw at the assassin.   
  
Bringing her claws together in a defensive cross, she easily deflected the crude throwing weapon.  
  
"DAMN YOU, MORTAL!" Blood Raven howled at the new-comer. The bow that she used had been a gift from Andariel herself, composed of various ivory and bones of many of the mightiest monsters of hell. To think that this puny, ignorant human girl had destroyed it was beyond insulting.   
  
"You will join my army of the dead!" Blood Raven, throwing aside her skill with the bow, lunged at the human with all of the unholy strength and speed granted to her by her new master. This having been the last thing the assassin expected, the Viz-Jaq'taar was hard pressed to avoid the powerful blows of her opponent and match her speed.  
  
Frantically, pulling every move that she knew, every technique of attack and defense, the assassin pulled blows with the corrupted commander of the New Sisterhood. Turning back and forth, trading a kick for a punch; a slash for a bite.  
  
Pulling back and cycling around the former Rogue, the assassin realized that the foe she fought was both far stronger and far faster than she could ever hope to be. Roused as she was to combat by the combined destruction of both her army and her prized bow, Blood Raven proved to be more than formidable in close-quarters, a title that few archers could claim.  
  
Of course, it didn't help matters that she had the strength of two gargantuan and the agility of a saber cat, both talents obviously unnatural and of infernal origin.  
  
Hoping to take the rogue off guard, the assassin tapped into her honed psychokinetic energies to pull of an astonishing burst of speed, rushing in past Blood Raven's defense and attempting multiple stabs to her body.  
  
Unfortunatly for her, the enchantment on Blood Raven's armor suddenly became apparent, as the metallic blades of her claws decayed and wasted away into nothingness.  
  
Blood Raven grinned, glad that she had this oppertunity to test her powerful, corrosive armor before being struck by a Rogue's arrow. Then, taking advantage of the close proximity and the open defense of the assassin, back handed her across the face and sent her spiraling back to land with a smack on the ground.  
  
"A worthy opponent..." Blood Raven was breathing hard, this unexpected need for power after spending a majority of the day and night raising the dead drawing on her nearly depleted daily resources. "A pity really. I would have liked to have had you as my right hand. Ruthless, cunning, and talented. Such a pity you're almost as big a fool as I was."  
  
The assassin only half listened, looking up and holding Blood Raven's gaze in order to keep her from noticing that she had managed to slip out another of her traps.  
  
"Burn in hell, witch!" The assassin spat, quickly flinging out the blade sentinel, a razor-sharp throwing shuriken designed for penetrating even the toughest of monster hides and magical force-fields.  
  
Unfortunately, the magic of Blood Raven's armor proved too powerful and the blade sentinel crumble to dust on contact, leaving little more than a bit of dirt on the Blood Raven's otherwise clean and polished armor.  
  
Blood Raven looked to the spot on her armor before turning back to the assassin with a eerily calm smile.   
  
"Actually, you would be surprised at just how cool the upper levels of hell are, temperature wise. I've been there before, and I must say, once you get used to the death and the violence, it is quite lovely." She spoke as if advising a friend, then, from the hidden pouch at her hip, drew out an ominous black-bladed short sword.  
  
"I'm sure that you'll enjoy it between the torture sessions and the ravaging a pretty girl like you is sure to get down there. Any last words?"  
  
The assassin gritted her teeth and forced herself to keep eye contact with Blood Raven.  
  
"After you." She said simply.  
  
This answer puzzled Blood Raven for a moment.  
  
"What?"  
  
"RAAAOOOHHHHHH!!" A reverberating growl ripped though the air, bringing Blood Raven to a horrifying realization.  
  
In all of the confusion with the warrior woman, she had turned her back on Elric.   
  
Before she could react, Blood Raven cried out and nearly doubled over in pain as her mystical armor, padding, and flesh of her lower back were pierced by four long, cruelly sharp, claws. Still in shock, with her vision painted blood red, the commander of Hell's army felt them close like fingers around her spinal cord...and was pulled, dragging her backward in excruciating pain. Then she found herself falling as the claws removed themselves from her body.  
  
In a moment of pain beyond any she had ever knew and horror she had not felt since Tristram, Blood Raven found herself in the muscular, inhuman arms of Elric Tasslewind's natural body.  
  
She had been in this position before.  
  
Dying, being cradled in his arms until help arrived. But last time, it had been the Arch-Bishop Lazarus that had wounded her so. It had been her that had laid back, nearly bleeding to death before Elric finally defeated and subdued the evil, corrupted priest.  
  
Then, he had looked down on her, and assured her that she would be alright. That Vajiha would come with the healing magics that could restore her.  
  
He had helped her hold onto life...  
  
But now... it was not hope, shining in his brilliantly beautiful green eyes that she saw. It was pure... unadulterated hatred. Glowing bright red...burning with the same intensity that she had seen in the eyes of the Cursed King Leoric and the foul Demon Lord, Diablo himself.  
  
She had seen those eyes as well on Elric.  
  
Every time he had killed.   
  
Though the pain had faded into shock, the woman who had been Alisa Malthion, Snow-Falcon of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye, could feel her blood draining, creating a pool on the ground underneath her.   
  
She knew that there might still be hope for her... a salvation.  
  
Her heart raced as she felt something cold and snake-like touch her throat, twisting around it until her entire neck was snuggly wrapped and covered.  
  
Her face contorted in horror.  
  
Elric's tail!  
  
"Elric..." She coughed weakly, hardly able to get the words past the painful lump in her throat. "Nooo...please..." A tear rolled down her cheek. "...don't do this..."  
  
The tail tightened slightly around her throat, forcing her to turn her head slightly.  
  
She heard a familiar hiss in her ear.  
  
"Diieeee, Blood Raven."  
  
"ELRIC! NO!!" Alisa screamed in terror, feeling the bone-made blades lining his tail begin to push outward.  
  
Fueled by only pure outrage, Elric closed his eyes as he willed the long blades of his tail to contract, pushing them outward, and quickly pulled his tightly wrapped tail over Blood Raven's neck, squeezing with all of the strength that his tail had.  
  
Blood spayed everywhere.  
  
And the head of Blood Raven, along with the frayed and mutilated remains of her neck, fell to the ground of the Monastery graveyard.  
  
Breathing heavily in the scent of death, Elric dropped the rest of Blood Raven's body to the ground, using what little force he had left after his encounter with the Silver to remain on his feet.  
  
Then, though he had only done it once before, Elric started speaking softly in the language of the Seraphim, the tongue of the Crystal Arch.  
  
"Tyrael...Wherever you are. Hear me now." He was beginning to lose the strength afforded to him by his adrenaline rush and was becoming woozy again. "She could not have chosen this path in clear conscious. Whatever force, whatever unnatural corruption was at work, is now undone." He paused, trying with great difficulty to remember the words of the Heavens. "Release her from the bonds of Hell, Tyrael. She has suffered enough."  
  
Elric opened his eyes, once again bright green, and realizing that the effects of the alchemical silver were threatening to overwhelm him again. The twisting of the ground and the many tombstones around him upset his stomach.  
  
Then he felt a tingle in the air.  
  
A sudden discharge of heavenly magic.  
  
Looking down and focusing on the body of his one-time friend, Alisa, Elric saw it begin to glow with a sterling white light. Then, brilliant discharges of raw, pure good, energy flew off in all directions, filling the air with a deafening sound akin to angelic tones.   
  
The assassin looked on as well in wonder. Though she had to cover her ears from the noises that she could not understand, she could see that the magical white light was filtering though the fallen ranks of the undead zombies and obliterating the blackened, corrupted souls that Blood Raven had summoned to inhabit them.  
  
When the light had swept though the entire cemetery, it vanished, along with Blood Raven's body, into nothingness.  
  
Leaving and assassin and a monstrous half-demon alone in a graveyard filled with rotting, dug-up corpses.  
  
"Rest in peace...Alisa." Elric said softly before breaking out into a mournful howl.  
  
But despite it all, he still could not cry.  
  
With his task done, Elric slumped to the ground, surrendering himself to the paralysis that had been forced onto him. When his head hit the ground, his still opened eyes saw two calf-high, black boots walking toward him. Fighting against pure exhaustion and the effects of the demon's bane, Elric lifted his head enough to look up at the Viz-Jaq'taar who looked down at him in equal wonder.  
  
"Thank you... Viz-Jaq'taar." He hissed, barely able to speak in common. Then laid his head back to the ground, not really expecting that she would ever let him get up again.  
  
Much to Elric's surprise, the assassin knelt down and, carefully, lifted his head into her lap.  
  
"At first I came to repay a debt, Elric Tasslewind." She said, gently stroking down his scales and causing him, in his exhausted state, to purr like a kitten. she realized that this comforted him.  
  
"But, instead, I owe you my life again, Elric." She smiled, though he could not see it.  
  
"My name is Kassyera. So, don't worry... I'm watching over you."  
  
Elric couldn't make out much of what she said. In all fairness, he couldn't even tell that he was purring, a habit that he had tried to break for years. But, surrendering completely to sleep, he managed to hear and remember one word.  
  
'Kassyera...' He thought, 'Sooo....bea...uti...ful.'  
  
And then there was darkness.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Post.  
  
In my opinion this is probably my best, and darkest, chapter to date. Unfortunately for my cast, it all goes pretty much to hell for them from here (And those of you familiar with the game know how literally I mean it.)  
  
Due to the fact that this chapter ended up running longer than I expected, the next post involving the story will go up on Friday of next week. However, I promised a double post and I will deliver a double post this week.   
  
The next chapter, which should be up about thirty minutes or so after this one is posted, will be a high-hearted change compared to the darkness of this chapter  
  
Next Time: Fifty Reviews celebration chapter: The Robin Shirewood Interviews.  
  
Announcement: Now accepting fan-mail and questions for all members of the the 'Diablo 2: Epic Behind the Game' Cast. Send your emails to L0rdSilverbane1(at)yahoo.com under the subject: (Name of Character you are writting). Every now and again, there will be a bonus 'Fan-Letter Opening' chapter following a regular Friday Update. At these times, Letters will be read, answered, and request shall be taken by various cast members. And remember... Its all in fun, so don't be afraid to be wild. Remember also that only characters that have been introduced in the story (both living and dead) will be open for answering E-mails, so for those of you wanting to write to Mephisto or Bhaal, you have to wait. Diablo, however has been seen (Elric's dream: Prologue) and is therefore open for questions.   
  
R&R constantly people, and don't forget to read the reviews because I have a habit of commenting on them and answering author/error related questions in the review column. Take for instance my ongoing stories with Ramaon (Elric's biggest fan, expert marks-woman, and NRA enthusiast) and Solarious (Whose clownz are still chasing me)  
  
I LOVE YOU ALL!  
  
This is Robin Shirewood, signing off. 


	11. Chapter 10: Finding the Stones

Diablo II: The Epic Behind the Game  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo II, I, or anything else that blizzard created. In fact, some of my dialog comes directly from the game, for accuracy purposes only. The Characters however are of my own design, directly from my chars on Battle.net  
  
Just saw Shrek 2 starring the voices of Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, and Antonio Bandaris and I must say:  
  
Puss In Boots Rocks!  
  
The only way they could have made the movie better is if Puss and Donkey had gotten a chance to beat the crap out of Hans Christian Anderson (The guy who took Grimm's twisted, meaningful stories and turned them into the modern day 'G' rated fairy tales)  
  
Okay time to get it on.   
Rogue Encampment:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"What's taking him so long?" Raid asked, lounging back against a barrel while she started to count her arrows again. "We've been waiting here for forever."  
  
The dark night was cool and dark, but the torches and fires kept the six adventurers warm and in sight of the still uninteresting and uneventful Way Stone.  
  
"Raid, it's only been a couple of hours." Natalie told the bored Amazon, hardly looking up from her spell book to repeat herself for the trillionth time. "These sort of things take time."  
  
"He shouldn't have gone alone." Preen said, breaking his hour of silent reflection. "The poor lad has likely been either killed or taken prisoner by savage monsters. He simply does not have the training or experience to go out on the Blood Moor alone."  
  
"Have some faith, paladin." Cathim said, laying back and taking this down time for some relaxation. "Or is that heresy to have faith in anything other than the faith?"  
  
"I am merely saying..."  
  
"And I'm saying: don't worry about Elric." Cathim yawned turning to the side, ready to get some sleep. "He's more than able to take care of himself."   
  
Tozam and their newfound companion, however had little problem passing the time and were becoming fast friends.  
  
"Come on, just a few more questions."  
  
"Okay, fine."  
  
"Have you tamed and trained... A polar bear?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"A tiger?"  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"A wolverine?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Uhhh, a carrion vine?"  
  
"That's not an animal, you know."  
  
"So you haven't?"  
  
"well, yes I have, but you don't really train plants." Durom answered, "Most of them are willful beings and you have to earn their trust."  
  
"Riiigghhhtt."  
  
"So, Tozam, who exactly is this person that you guys are waiting for?" Durom asked.  
  
"Oh, Elric? He's great. Funny, smart, and a fine warrior to boot." Tozam told the druid, "He's about ye high and black..." Tozam brought his hand down to his waist.   
  
"TOZAM!!" Natalie was torn away from her studying.   
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm sorry, is Elric a dog?" Durom asked, his curiosity peaked by Natalie's outburst.  
  
"You're not far off." A new voice sounded as the red-haired Battle-Eagle walked into the light.   
  
"Kashya?" Cathim opened his eyes and turned, regarding the rogue with disdain. "To what do we owe the displeasure?"  
  
"I heard that you six appeared out of nowhere in the middle of my camp a couple of hours ago, so I thought I should come and welcome you back."  
  
"No, Battle-Eagle, there is no more threat to your 'outhouse' than there was three hours ago." Natalie said flatly, correctly guessing Kashya's real motives. "This stone was placed here by the Horadrim centuries ago as a way to transport troops directly here."  
  
"So, what's to keep a legion of monsters from opening a portal and surpassing our entire defense?"  
  
"Kashya," Natalie shook her head, "I opened the portal that brought us back here, but that doesn't mean I know how to work it. All I did was open a scroll. The only person who seems to have any clue as to what this thing does is Elric."  
  
"So, what's to keep a legion of monsters from surpassing our entire defense?" Kashya repeated herself.  
  
"Battle-Eagle, no one else even knows that this thing is here. Believe me, there is no danger to your encampment."   
  
"That's something else that I needed to talk to you all about." Kashya looked from side to side as though she suspected the entire camp was eavesdropping. "Have you had any word from the half-breed?"  
  
"Half-breed?" Preen's brow went up.  
  
"So...Elric 'is' a dog?" Durom was confused by this whole thing.  
  
"Battle-Eagle, could we continue this discussion in private?" Natalie asked. Natalie knew that the others would find out about all of this sooner or later, but she felt it would be best to wait until the last possible moment seeing as how they would need all of the help they could get if and when they got to Tristram.  
  
"Of course." Kashya answered, understanding only the sorceresses personal feelings and relationship with the creature. They stepped to the edge of the firelight together, a worried look on Natalie's face.  
  
"We haven't seen or heard from him since before we left two days ago." Natalie told her, "All he said was that he had something personal to take care of."  
  
"Then I regret what I must inform you." Kashya said, suddenly far more somber.   
  
"It is very likely that Elric Tasslewind is dead."  
  
If Natalie had been at all distracted when the Battle-Eagle first arrived, she surly wasn't now.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
Kashya took a breath before going on, surprised to find herself feeling a bit sad at being the one who had to tell the sorceress the news.   
  
"Elric accepted a sort of quest from me before he left the encampment two days past." Kashya explained the situation as she had explained it to Elric almost two days before, and also told her about the reaction that the half-demon had when he had heard that he could get his claws on the person directly responsible for his friend, Alisa's, murder.  
  
"I didn't think that he would be stupid enough to go off on his own. Blood Raven must have hundreds of undead at her disposal by now. And, when she's ready, she will march on the encampment. I'm sorry, but I can't let you leave again until the threat has been dealt with."  
  
"Look, Kashya." Natalie shook her head, somewhat tired by this whole affair. "Don't you think that you're putting Elric in his grave just a little early?"  
  
"I can't take the chance that either he's failed or joined with the enemy..."  
  
"And what makes you think he'll do that?" Natalie was more than a little offended by this automatic assumption that Elric would betray them.   
  
"Oh, come on, sorceress. You're obviously a smart girl. Surely you know that it must pass though his mind constantly. He's always been a part of 'that' world, and, in the end, that heritage will overcome any fragile bond that you think he's formed in your company. He is evil by nature, and no amount of kindness or denial will ever change that."  
  
Before Natalie could put words to her outrage at this preposterous claim, the attention of both women, the adventuring band, and the rest of the encampment was stolen away in wonder. The dark, dank night parted suddenly as a brilliant-white beam of light suddenly tore though the otherwise light-less, new-moon sky.   
  
And on the wind, several of the more sensitive among them could hear a faint echo of angelic music.  
  
"Wha..." The Battle-Eagle was shocked, only half a thought away from calling all of the remaining rogues to arm. "What sort of magic is this..."  
  
Natalie simply looked on in wonder, along with a druid, a necromancer, an Amazon, and a barbarian, trying in vain to recognize this strange phenomena.  
  
But not one of them managed to identify this sign.  
  
It was the paladin who bolted upright and immediately knew it's name.  
  
"Why...Bless the saints." Preen said loudly for all to hear, looking up at the tower of light with tears forming in his eyes. "It is an 'unfettering'."  
  
"A what?" Tozam and Durom asked together. Durom had experience with many of the different magics of nature, but he had never even dreamed of anything like this before.  
  
"A great evil has been defeated this night by a holy warrior." Preen explained, not turning his gaze from the light. "In an act of purity and mercy, the warrior has requested that the evil be freed or 'unfettered' from the bonds of hell and learn the eternal splendor of the heavens. It is most rare, for the angels only answer the call from the purest of intentions and the strongest of wills."  
  
Natalie smiled as she absorbed this news. Watching the pillar of light for a moment longer before it began to fade into non-existence, allowing the darkness of the night to fall on the lands of Kanduras again.  
  
"So, Battle-Eagle," She gave the rogue a side-ways glance. "I do believe that 'the half-breed' has not only saved your outhouse, but he's also saved your enemy from an eternity of pain and torment." Natalie closed her eyes and shook her head.   
  
"It's just too bad that he's so evil by nature that he can never reach 'our kind's' level of spirituality and compassion."   
  
Natalie left the Battle-Eagle staring up into the starless sky, contemplating what she had thought she knew so well about the workings of the world.  
  
--------------------  
  
From atop the battlements of her conquered monastery, another watched the sky in the south-east burst into light and angelic tones.  
  
But Andariel, unlike the rogues, was neither pleased or impressed.  
  
She had come up here, away from the comfort of her throne, to witness first hand the half-demon's defeat.  
  
But this was all wrong!  
  
Blood Raven had been the most powerful mortal that Andariel herself had ever personally come across. By comparison to the full-blooded spawn of Hell, half-demons were a joke! Even before her enhancements, Blood Raven should have smashed that creature like a bug!   
  
This entire game stopped being an amusement almost immediately. Something was far from out of place here.   
  
Now, not only had the half-breed proved to her that he had power enough to oppose her, but it had brought to light something else by 'unfettering' Blood Raven.  
  
The half-breed had some connection to the angels of the High Heavens. A simple fact that made The Maiden of Anguish shiver in disgust.  
  
"Cragg-Snot!" Andariel shouted out, calling for her next in command.  
  
"Mi mistress beckons, Me obey." Cragg-Snot, a particularly cruel member of the 'Misshapen', answered immediately, completely unaware that the tower of light meant anything of interest.  
  
"Call back all nearby troop movements and summon all in the area that champion our cause to fall back to the Monastery."  
  
"But...My Mistress..." Cragg-Snot tried to make himself heard. "The monastery is impenetrable. No hu-mans dare come dis far."  
  
Not wasting time to reprimand her new second in command, Andariel simply reached down and ripped the fell beast's head off.  
  
"PUKE-RAG!" Andariel called for her back-up next in command. The fallen shaman, Puke-rag appeared a moment later, bowing before his mistress and sniveling in his own, pathetic manner.  
  
"We are under orders from the master to hold this mountain pass by any and all means necessary. Failure to do so will result sharing that one's fate..." She lifted up Cragg-Snot's head to show the fallen Shaman before taking a hungry bite out of it. "...and so much worse. Understand?!"  
  
"Yesss, yesss, mi Mistress..."  
  
"Then do exactly as I say without question and without comment." Andariel continued to instruct her subordinate in exactly what he was to do to insure the hold of the Monastery.  
  
But, still, in the back of her mind, she tried to understand what this was.  
  
'What', exactly, was she dealing with?  
  
--------------------------------  
  
FLASH  
  
Elric opened his eyes and immediately recognized the surrounding structures and buildings. The warm, spring sun shone brilliantly on the blacksmith, the town well, Pepin's Medicine House, and The Inn of the Rising Sun.  
  
He was back in Tristram.  
  
People milled past him, paying little heed to the black-scaled half-demon. Every now and again, somebody would stop for just a moment to say good day, but other than that, it was as if he wasn't even there.  
  
FLASH  
  
Elric looked around at the trail which led out of Tristram, and was shocked when he realized that four figures were standing there. He could not see them, for the setting-sun was in his eyes, but he could hear chatting for a moment before two of them embraced.  
  
"Where will you go?" A tall, gangly man wearing brightly colored robes asked the leftmost of the four.  
  
"I don't know." The other figure answered, his voice young and full of life "But I'll be sure to slaughter any demons and monsters I find on the way. And where shall you go once you tire of ale and feast's? Where shall your journeys take you, Master Vizjerei?"'  
  
Elric did not need to hear the Vizjerei's reply. But as it was said, he mouthed the familiar words silently.  
  
"Home, my friend. To Lut Golein, the Jewel of the desert. I plan to continue my studies there."  
  
"And I..." The woman started.  
  
"Vajiha...Kalin...Alisa..." Elric stared in awe as he heard the familiar conversation from a different perspective. How could he be watching the breaking of their company? Nobody had even known that Elric was leaving except his friends.  
  
"...watch over you, Always, dear Elric." The rogue put a loving hand on the leftmost figures...on HIS...shoulder.  
  
"ALISA!" Elric couldn't control himself. "DON'T GO! PLEASE! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! THAT'S THE WRONG PATH!! FOR THE LOVE OF THE HEAVENS! DON'T GO!!!" He wanted to lunge forward...to tackle Alisa and tie her up so that she couldn't go back to the Monastery. So that she couldn't go and be seduced by the dark powers of Andariel and the Hells. Yet, as much as he willed himself to do so, he did not move. He stayed there, watching as he (The other, five month younger, Elric) turned to the largest of the four figures.   
  
Kalin the warrior.  
  
"And where shall you go, my friend?" He asked the warrior of Khanduras.  
  
With a blank meaningless stare, and a voice which stung like fire, he answered.  
  
"To the east, I must go to the east."  
  
FLASH  
  
FIRE!!! Flames danced all over the place, threatening the very life of Tristram  
  
Elric looked around in a panic, trying not to be swept away by the horrified crowds of people.   
  
The blacksmith shop... The Inn of the Rising Sun... they were all ablaze.  
  
Harshly, Elric reached out to grab one of the passing villagers.  
  
"YOU! WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!?" Elric tried to grab hold of the peasant with his claws, but, much to his surprise, phased right though the man's clothing and flesh. Undaunted, as though not even realizing what had happened, the man ran past, screaming in horror.  
  
Then, he was cut down, as were many others, by a hail of black-shafted, crude arrows.   
  
Looking over his shoulder, trying to make sense of this pointless execution, Elric saw the source of this massacre.  
  
The goat-men of the Blood Clan, he realized. Personal Servants of Diablo himself.  
  
And then Elric knew:  
  
He was seeing the slaughter of Tristram.  
  
Anger welled up inside of him. He could not, He WOULD not, let this happen! Not if he could help it! So, sounding a primal roar, announcing his dark heritage to the world, Elric charged forward, dead on into a volley of arrows.   
  
Once again to his surprised, the arrows phased right though his tail and head as he ran forth whipping his tail out to slice the first monster he saw in half.   
  
He felt the impact...but not in his tail.  
  
His arm jarred, as though he had struck the creature with a weapon, and the monstrous goat-man's head shot to the side... the wrong side...right into the blow that Elric had though his tail had struck.  
  
It fell to the ground dead, an enormous bruise showing on the left side of it's head, though Elric had struck on the right with a bladed tail. The way that it laid, it seemed as though the creature had been smashed in the head with a long staff that had broken the goat-man's neck and collapsed it's skull.  
  
"What the hell..." Elric didn't understand.  
  
FLASH  
  
Horrors were aplenty as Elric found himself in pain. A great brutish monster held his neck tightly, threatening to crush his windpipe. No matter how Elric struggled, the thing did not relent. Whatever hellish strength had been infused into this abomination was more than enough to hold onto the powerful, writhing, half-demon.  
  
Then, Elric went limp as he looked up into the face of the one holding him in place.  
  
"Griswold...???" Elric choked out. The face was bloody and distorted, but it was unmistakably the blacksmith of Tristram.  
  
"Well well well, what do ya have there , Griz?" A dark, horrid voice grated on Elric's nerves before the twisted, cursed blacksmith dropped him harshly to the ground.   
  
Strangely, Elric found his strength drained and could not move to either attack or defend himself when a scarred goat-man leaned down and into his vision.  
  
"Gharbed The Weak?!" Elric recognized the scarred goat-man as the quivering beast that he had left, sobbing and defeated in a pile of sliced and bloody corpses on the twelfth floor of the Monastery. Elric had felt a uncharacteristic jolt of mercy when he had last dealt with this one, leaving it alive, but not expecting the wounded monster to make it far in the demon-eat-demon world beneath the Monastery of Tristram.  
  
Gharbed, however, didn't seem to hear him.  
  
"Ahhh, Master will be most pleased. Yes he will." Gharbed the Weak giggled and nodded at Elric. "At last, the hells have the descendant of the great Horadric Binder. Foolish hu-man dares to believe he had beaten the master. You will pay now for the arrogance of your ancestors, Binder of the Three!"  
  
"What the hells are you talking about!?" Elric was confused. He didn't even know who his ancestors were on either side of his family. How could he possibly pay for their sins.  
  
"Put man in cage!" Gharbed ordered, "We be merciful...yes...like the Black Death is merciful. We not torture you...we not kill you, binder. We let nature take it's course...yes...let it be hungry, let it starve!"  
  
Without warning, Elric felt himself being heaved up and thrown backward.  
  
"Agghhhhhh!!!" Elric flew though the air for a moment before slamming against hard cold, Iron bars and falling to a harshly uncomfortable barred floor. Dazed, Elric had to shake his head clear before he realized that he was being heaved into the air. Vainly, Elric hopped forward and pulled on the bars, hoping that he might, somehow find the strength to force them loose or pull them apart. Such strength, however, was not his.  
  
"LET ME OUT OF HERE." Elric thrashed against the bars wildly, hoping to get the attention of the monsters below. But, it seemed that he was no longer an amusement to them. Daring a peek out the bars, from his higher angle, Elric could now see the macabre scene below him in horrific detail. He could see the gold suave, peg legged boy, Wirt, being beaten bloody and tortured by fallen demons with his own wooden leg. Near to the tortured boy; Gillian, the beautiful barmaid of the Inn of The Rising Sun, along with the darkly attractive witch, Ardria, were being ravaged side by side by monster after monster, with lines forming in front of each. Down the way, Farnham, a local drunkard was being force-fed gallon after gallon of Liquor and ale, only being allowed momentary pauses for breaths. If the alcohol didn't kill him soon, Farnham would likely burst from drinking too much.   
  
Elric shut his eyes, trying still to pull down the bars of the cage. He had to save them! He simply had to!!  
  
No mortals deserved such demonic treatment!  
  
"Ay, YOU!" Elric was thrown to the floor of the cage as the entire structure holding it aloft rocked. "Stop yer squirming' and enjoy the show!" A high, contorted, gaggled laugh was followed by a sudden spear ramming up in between the bars of the horrible gibbet's floor. Elric dodged the spear, then another and then another before tripping down on a bar and landing (quite painfully) on his tail. In a sickening motion, the entire world around him swung back and forth as the position of the gibbet was changed, putting it directly over the town well.   
  
This was a strange emotion to him, something that Elric had not felt in a long time.   
  
Despair...Helplessness.  
  
Despite growing doubt, Elric looked around, trying to find some way to escape. Some way to combat this evil.  
  
Then, Elric looked down into the still, glassy surface of the town's well, the only thing in Tristram that had not been put to the torch.  
  
There, Elric saw not his own mirrored refection. He did not see his sender snout or his back-curving horns. Nor did he see his brilliant green eyes.  
  
Instead, he saw a fragile, gray haired old wisp of a man dressed in gray robes looking back at him, crying as Elric could not.  
  
'Elder Cain...' Elric thought as the entire world faded around him. He was seeing the world though the sage's eyes... and that meant....   
  
FLASH  
  
'Deckard Cain is alive...'  
  
And then there was darkness.  
  
-------------------------  
  
Elric moaned, feeling too sore to raise his head. Even his eye-lids seemed to be plated with the heaviest of leads. At that moment, he just wanted to lie there on his belly, resting until he felt fully recovered. Nevertheless, knowing that he would never recover without aid, his eyes opened, squinting in the bright morning sunlight.  
  
Ignoring his still twitching muscles and stiff joints, he managed to push his upper body off the ground, causing a thin, tattered blanket to side down off of his back.  
  
"What the..." Elric moaned, twisting around painfully to see the cloth still covering his tail and lower body.  
  
A blanket? He didn't bring a blanket. Where did it come from?  
  
Even more curious, as he quickly realized, was that there was something cutting off his flexibility. Checking himself over, Elric saw a white bandage wrapped around his chest and, tugging at it slightly, felt a much larger cloth tightly held across his shoulders.  
  
He had been wounded? And somebody had tended to him.  
  
Slowly, bits and pieces of the previous night started coming back to his mind. He remembered fending off zombies...being hit in the back with an arrow tipped with alchemical silver. Blood Raven...  
  
Elric looked around the Rogue Burial Grounds, seeing the many scattered, decayed bodies of the former zombies. A quaint reminder of what had befallen the night before.  
  
He had killed Alisa...Blood Raven... whatever and whoever she had become. And, in the throes of hatred and pain, he had done it without hesitation...without mercy.  
  
Of that he was thankful, for he didn't know if he could have done so with a clear mind.   
  
With that done, with the Commander of Hell defeated and cut loose from the bonds of her former masters, there was only one creature left.  
  
Taking in a breath, Elric looked down and found, at his claws, a freshly killed rabbit, a vial of mana potion, and a flask filled with the red, thick healing potion.  
  
"Viz-Jaq'taar?" Elric looked around again, taking a sniff at the air. The stench of death surrounding him was thick and unrelenting, making the fresh scent of the living all the more noticeable and pleasant. "I know that you're there somewhere. Kassyera...wasn't it." Elric looked around, trying to find the assassin whilst tugging at the restricting bandages. "Thanks, but I really don't like rabbit."  
  
"You know..."   
  
"WAARRKK!!!!" Elric yelped, nearly jumping out of his scales, which was suddenly shot to a familiar stark white color. Turning back around, he saw the assassin resting on the ground in plain. He had just looked there, and all around, only a moment before and saw nothing.  
  
"...If you keep pulling on it, that bandage will come loose before the wound is healed." Kassyera finished, a smile on her face.  
  
"Where did...how...what...???" Elric remained stunned for a moment longer, then calmed himself, changed his color back to black, and chuckled weakly. "And I thought that I was a stealthy one. Well, I guess the legends of armies of assassins suddenly appearing right in the bed chambers of dark wizards might have some truth to them after all."  
  
"Not the part about them all appearing bear of armor or clothes I'm afraid." Kassyera laughed along with the half-demon.   
  
"My thanks to you as well, Elric Tasslewind. That is twice that you have saved my life now. Though, I must say, there are many legends and tales concerning the Viz-Jaq'taar Order, though few outside of the mage clans know them. But I have never heard of a half-demon before."  
  
Elric smiled as warmly as his elongated face would allow before reaching over to pick up the healing potion. He remembered that he had another job to do.  
  
"Well, I would love to stay here and talk myths and legends among the headstones, Kassyera. Tea, cakes, the whole sha-bang. I really would. But I have to get out of here and find a ring of stones as soon as possible."  
  
At this, Kassyera grew serious and withdrew slightly.  
  
"The Cairn Stones?"  
  
This got the half-demon's attention.  
  
"Yeah...How did you know that?"  
  
"Because..." Kassyera looked at this unique creature before her, taking wonder in his green eyes. "...That's why I'm here. I was sent to find the Cairn Stones and await the coming of a man named Cain."  
  
Elric cocked his head to the side.  
  
This was far too convenient for his liking.  
  
But he was tired, sore, and really had no desire to spend days searching countryside that this young woman may have already scoured to find the same ring of standing stones. Time was against them and Deckard Cain would not last forever. So, what the hell did he have to lose.   
  
"Okay, Kass." He said, "Here's the deal. I tell you who Cain is, what's going on with me and you tell me where you heard that name and who told you to find the Cairn Stones."   
  
-----------------  
  
"It's been at over twelve hours since we got back, Natalie. We can't wait here for forever."  
  
"So, what do you propose?" Natalie asked the brash, overconfident paladin. "That we leave out at noon, spend two days just getting there and then start out for the Stony Fields ourselves, which would take even longer?"   
  
"Well of course it doesn't sound like a good idea when you put it like that." Preen sighed, rubbing his eyes and shifting the shield on his back. "But we can't just keep sitting here waiting for a magic portal to open up."  
  
"Yes we can, Preen." Natalie said forcefully, "And we will for as long as necessary." Then, softly, noting the paladin's blood-shot eyes. "Preen, when was the last time you slept?"  
  
"What?" Preen had to look up, having trouble focusing on the sorceress.   
  
"I asked: 'When did you last sleep?" The sorceress realized what it had been about the paladin that had made him so impatient for the last few hours. "You were taking almost constant watches when we were resting in the fields and the forest on the way to the Tree of Inifuss. So, when did you last sleep?"  
  
"Don't worry over me, sorceress." Preen snapped, turning back to move and join with the others, who were taking a nap while he and Natalie were supposed to be watching for the magical gate. "I am not a child here."  
  
"When?" Natalie's voice took on a sense of command again, as if ordering the paladin to answer her.  
  
"Not long ago," Preen sighed, stopping long enough to rub his eyes again. "Only about three, maybe four days ago."  
  
"You haven't slept since a day before we even met!?" Natalie couldn't believe this. "Forget being effective in battle, how the heck are you still standing?"   
  
"It's nothing, Natalie, really." Preen said, "All it takes is a bit of faith and a touch of Zakarum aura-magic."  
  
"'Vigor', right pally?" Cathim's voice sounded from the ground before he sat up straight and stiffly. "Impressive, but unless there is something that you're not telling us, you need to sleep if you're going to be any good to us. And no amount of magic can change that."  
  
"Cathim! Have you been eavesdropping!?" Preen was obviously not in the mood for the necromancer.  
  
"Of course I have. I haven't anything better to do except try and figure out the tune that Little Bugga is snoring to. Besides, in order for it to be eavesdropping, you have to be discussing something secret, and you're state of mind is everybody's business."  
  
"Listen here, necromancer." Preen's voice had a bit more venom than usual in it this time. "Just because you can snooze away eight or nine hours of sleep doesn't mean that I can. I must keep a constant vigil over my companions, friends and otherwise. It is the duty of any knight of the Zakarum to exercise to bring themselves above the limitations of mortality. To fight against every enemy, be it a monster, hunger, or our own temptations. This ridiculous, mortal need to sleep is just another of the many things that man can overcome with time, strict discipline, and..."  
  
Cathim was tired of listening to the paladin and decided to try and put a stop to the droning.  
  
"Moortar nocturn" He said shortly, flicking the wand in his off hand slightly and focusing a bit of his mana into the paladin's general direction.  
  
"...And.... andddddd...." Preen rocked back and forth for a moment before finally buckling under his own weight and dropping like a heavily armored stone to the ground.  
  
Natalie was impressed.  
  
"What spell was that?"   
  
" 'Weaken', a Necromancer curse that is supposed to fatigue an enemy. I figured that since he was already a tired enemy, all it would take was a little push to send him beyond the point of fatigue and get him counting sheep."  
  
"Hmmm, do you think that it's uncomfortable to sleep in all that armor, not to mention the shield on his back?"  
  
"Probably, but even if we asked him to take it off, he wouldn't have. Besides, for a curse to really work, a person shouldn't know that it's coming. And unless you feel the need to strip his armor off..."  
  
"Okay, Catty, Okay." Natalie held up her hands in surrender. "But will you at least help me move him over onto a mat so that he can be more comfortable?"  
  
"Yeah, sure. Why not?" Cathim threw off the blanket over his legs and got up to help the sorceress move the paladin.  
  
It took a while to get Preen closer to the Way Stone, as his weight was at least doubled by the armor and weapons. Natalie even went so far as to take the shield off of his back and remove the weapons holsters around his belt.  
  
"Bum-ba-da-da-da-da-da dum...dum-dum-dum." Cathim started strumming out a beat.  
  
"Oh, shut up." Natalie told him, giving the necromancer a playful jab in the ribs.   
  
"Hey, Ow... Watch those, their still tender from when Tozam knocked my skeletal system into my flesh." He called out in mock pain. Then, his expression becoming more serious, he turned and gestured to the Amazon and the druid that were sleeping around the Way Stone.  
  
"We have to let them know sometime, Natalie." He said in frankness, taking his seat next to her. "Before it's too late."  
  
"About what?" Natalie asked in sincere curiosity.  
  
"About your brother."  
  
"Oh, come on, Cathim. Raid's met Elric and she's taken to him well enough. And Durom might as well be part of Tozam's family the way they talk and carry on, so what do we have to worry about?"  
  
"Natalie, I know this may be hard for you to understand..." Cathim whispered, so as not to wake anybody up. "...But Elric is part demon. And unlike you, me, and Tozam, these people, including the high priestess and the Battle-Eagle did not have the privilege of meeting him in his true form or being saved by him. They won't understand the difference between him and any of the monsters that we fight."  
  
"But that's just it, Cathim." Natalie brought around a counter-point. "Elric 'IS' different. Yes, he's got a dark side. He's got teeth, he's got claws, and he does that whole...acid-spitting...thing. But there is something that everyone else fails to see."  
  
"And what is that?" Cathim asked sourly.  
  
"That he's not just half-demon, Cathim." She said slowly. "He's half-human too. And that's the side of him that the world should judge. That's what matters."  
  
"In a perfect world, Natalie. In a perfect world, certainly, that's true." Cathim's grim, pale face tempered his words with the greatest of sincerity. "But, not even heaven is a perfect world. Do you understand?"  
  
Tired as she was, Natalie conceded the point, ending all conversation then and there. So, the two magic users sat back and kept watch over the Way Stone and their late-sleeping companions as they enjoyed the warmth of the morning.  
  
What they failed to notice, however, was that, in the horrible wake of Tozam's snoring, the Amazon and the druid were completely still and breathing quietly.  
  
---------------------  
  
"You were at Tristram when the monastery fell?" Kassyera asked in shock. After listening to the half-demons story over the last two hours, she was down right speechless. She had heard stories of the defeat of Diablo, The Lord of Terror, but she had never imagined that she would meet one of the heroes responsible for it. "You were among the three who defeated the Demon Lord?"  
  
"Okay," Elric shook his head, looking away from the expansive field that they were exploring and back to the assassin. "First off, there were not three of us, there were four of us. It just seems that that idiot storyteller, Marius, pleasantly forgot about me being there. After all, demons aren't supposed to be heroes or live 'happily ever after'." He suddenly saddened. "Like Alisa should have."  
  
"Blood Raven...She was one of your companions there. That's where you knew her from."  
  
"Yeah." Elric nodded, melancholy  
  
Seeing the half-demon turn back to the field, obviously still in pain over the former rogue's death, Kassyera decided to change the subject.  
  
"Well, in any case, I should very much like to meet your newer friends, though I must admit that I would probably be a bit uncomfortable around the necromancer and the paladin."  
  
"Okay, I understand a shadowy, mysterious assassin being uneasy around some holier-than-thou Zakarum dog, but what's wrong with Cathim?"  
  
"Well, you know that the Viz-Jaq'taar was founded to keep the mage clans from becoming corrupt and decadent, right?"  
  
"Aye."   
  
"Well, we, my order that is, have often had to stage dangerous infiltrations and assassinations of corrupted wizard leaders. Now, unruly wizards, hateful sorcerers; those I can handle. But the Priesthood of Rathma have never been put under investigation by the Viz-Jaq'taar."  
  
"You're kidding."   
  
"No, I'm not." She answered. "Necromancers are such cold-hearted pragmatists that they've achieved what the Zakarum have preached for centuries. They are almost completely above corruption and temptation. They don't fear death, they don't suffer the living and can't really be intimidated. And they scare the hell out of me."  
  
"Well, if that's the case, then Cathim's not too bad as Necromancers go." Elric turned back and gave her another of his warm, demon smiles before stopping and sitting back on his haunches for a moment.  
  
The simple walking had been a good idea. He had managed to work out most of the stiffness and soreness that had been plaguing him that morning. But the one thing that had been bothering him more than anything was the stupid cloth bandage that was restricting his movement, slowing him down, and really, really chafing his scales.  
  
After pulling at the cursed bandage for a moment, Elric felt Kassyera stop behind him and kneel down.   
  
"It'll never heal if you don't stop fiddling with it." She said, sounding like an over protective mother hen while she shifted the bandage up on his back, tightening the hold on his chest.  
  
"You don't get it..." Elric said softly, reaching up a claw and drawing it down the deep scar that now cut between his eyes and down the center of his snout. "It won't ever completely heal, Period!"  
  
"What?" Kass asked, pulling the bandage up slightly and allowing herself to get her first look at the wound in hours. "Oh my gods..."  
  
The area around the arrow wound had swollen and the flesh beneath the black scales seemed to be oozing a clear puss and looked infected.   
  
Quite disgusting.  
  
"What happened?" She asked, pushing the bandage back down, trying to dry up the puss with a little pressure.  
  
"WARRKKK!" Elric cried out. "Don't do that!" He pulled away slightly.   
  
"Sorry." Kassyera got back up to her feet as Elric heaved himself back on all fours. "But what...what...?"  
  
"The tip of the arrow that Blood Raven used was made of alchemical silver." Elric said as though that would explain everything, then thinking the subject closed, he started to move again, scanning the plains again.   
  
"Silver? I've never heard of silver being used for weaponry."  
  
"That's because you fight wizards, not demons. And it's 'Alchemical' Silver." Elric corrected, realizing that he would have to explain. "It's also called 'Demon's Bane'. The purest of silver from the high heavens refined beyond human skill. Absolutely deadly to demons with no ill effects to uncorrupted humans."  
  
"Yourself included, I'm guessing."  
  
"To a lesser degree, yes." Elric told her. "Think of it as a horrific allergic reaction. In small doses, it acts like a paralysis drug. but could very quickly become fatal due to prolonged exposure, say: Longer than three minutes. Infections are not uncommon and even the best healing potions don't help with the scars."  
  
"Dear lords...potent stuff."   
  
"Demon's Bane is an angelic weapon. Very rare beyond the Gates of Heaven." Elric told her. "Unfortunately, I've been seeing more lately that I would ever care to see for the rest of my life."  
  
After that, the two traveled in silence for about a quarter of an hour before Elric finally asked:  
  
"So, what's the deal with you?"  
  
"Well, it seems fairly stupid now." Kassyera said, "Considering what it seems to have lead me to."  
  
"Oh, come on. What happened?"  
  
"Well," Kassyera was hesitant. If anyone had told her that she would be having a conversation with a demon forty-two hours ago, she would have never believed it.   
  
Amazing how quickly things could change in just a few short hours.  
  
"It started shortly after I had completed a mission outside the Vizjerei capital of Viz-Jun, a particularly nasty warlock tried to open a demon-gate to our world in exchange for eternal life. After the damn wizard finally died, I started the journey back to the Home of the Viz-Jaq'taar. The first night that I made camp, I had this strange dream."  
  
'Oh-boy...' Elric thought to himself, 'Every time I get into dreams, something weird usually follows.'  
  
"It was...rather vague. I was on a dirt road with a crowd of people all heading in one direction. I was about to start following them when a man in a ragged gray cloak came pushing against the crowd. He said that everyone was going the wrong way. That 'Death lay on the simplest path, the dangerous road was the only way.' So, I asked the traveler: 'Where was the dangerous road?'. And he said...oh, what was it...:  
  
'Upon the Stony Fields, beyond the Pass of Rogues, there is a great place, home of magic stones.  
  
Hold there to find the sage, Who waits for you in vain, Find the path at last, With the man named Cain.'  
  
After that, I had a horrible vision. There was smoke...and fire..." Kass held on a second as she recalled it, "And...so much blood...innocent blood. When I woke up, I felt like I have been instructed to go as quickly as possible. So, I made way instead for Kurast, bartered passage to Kingsport, and traveled by land until I came here some time ago. Every now and then, I would have another dream similar to the first, only...the message would change. At one point, it warned me that death awaited in Tristram, then about three nights ago there was a message that I did not understand until I met you..."  
  
"Find the horned stone and from that place, one with the body of an enemy and the soul of a friend shall befall you most unexpectedly?" Elric said quickly, repeating what Kassyera had said at their first meeting.  
  
"What...how did??"  
  
"I have perfect memory. I remember almost everything that I've seen, heard, and read since the day I was hatched. And I remember it all with excruciating detail." Elric grimaced, "Some things...I remember too well."  
  
Taking advantage of another silence, Kassyera looked around the plains once again, her skilled, sharp eyes taking stock of the terrain.   
  
Then, she saw it.  
  
"I can see them!" She said quickly, pointing off to the east. Surely enough, as Elric looked, he saw five small pillar-like shapes on the horizon.  
  
"Well, alright." Elric said, taking comfort in the fact that they had located the portal. Smiling, he turned to the assassin. "Check this, Kass. I think that you'll enjoy this little bit of magic. Don't be panicking or anything, okay."   
  
Drawing a nod from Kassyera, Elric closed his eyes and started drawing on his inherent magical abilities.  
  
---------------------  
  
"...And then the barbarian says to the southerner: 'Your wife?? I thought that was your brother!'"  
  
Cathim, Durom, and Preen sat in mute silence while Tozam had to restrain himself from laughing at his own punch line.  
  
"It...(snort) it was his....(chuckle) his...wife..." Then, realizing that the joke hadn't gone over so well, looked at the three men opposite him.  
  
"Come on guys, what's wrong? That joke is hilarious."  
  
"I'm sorry, Tozam. But I've heard that one a hundred times." Durom laughed weakly.  
  
"I don't get it." Preen said shaking his head.  
  
"Well...ummm, what about you, Catty?" Tozam asked the necromancer, who was looking over a vial of mana potion, inspecting for hair-line cracks. "Did you not get it either."  
  
"Oh, no. I got it alright." Cathim said dryly. "I just didn't find it funny."  
  
"Ugh...tough crowd."  
  
Just at that moment, a sudden spark of blue fire appeared over the Way Stone, spending a moment suspended in air, and then igniting with full fury and then solidifying into the familiar pool of pure blue water. Natalie and Raid were though immediately, having everything ready that they needed for the moment the portal arrived.  
  
Tozam, Cathim, and the other guys, however, were not so lucky.  
  
"Well, it's about time, Elric." Cathim said, quickly rushing to grab his things like the others and moving to jump though the portal.   
  
"I'm just glad that he put the stupid portal up before Tozam started another joke." Preen added, standing right in front of the mystical gateway.  
  
"NOW THOSE JOKES WERE..."  
  
"Sorry, can't hear you!" Preen told the barbarian, hopping though the pool only moments before the druid.  
  
"Oh, don't worry, Tozam." Cathim said to the agitated barbarian. "Maybe we can find a Blood Hawk nest to push him into when nobody is looking."  
  
With that, Cathim plunged into the standing pool.  
  
Tozam, his spirits lifted by this morbid thought, smiled and stepped thought the portal.  
  
Only seconds later, it vanished, leaving no trace of the six adventurers or their magical means of escape.  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Okay, I know it's a cliffhanger of sorts. Don't worry because I have a really good one coming up next week.  
  
Revamped: June 20th, 8:15pm for spelling and proof reading purposes.  
  
Next Week: The Return to Tristram Finally, the unlikely heroes travel to the place where it all began: The demon infested sess-pool of Tristram. Secrets shall be uncovered. Lies shall be told. And the fate of a great sage hangs in the balance. Finally, the entire team, both old and new members, come together for one serious butt-whupping.  
  
Oh well, enough about that.   
  
Let's see. I have decided to close this week with a poem to show just how much I want you guys to R&R.  
  
(Robin has to dodge tomatoes)  
  
OKAY! I GET IT! No poetry. Sheesh, try to inject a little badly written culture.  
  
Well, You guys have read it all before, So I don't have to tell you how important your reviews are to me. Remember, I check them every couple of hours and I absolutely love getting new ones.  
  
Well, that's a wrap.  
  
Until next time, this is Robin Shirewood...Signing off.


	12. Chapter 11: Together At Last

Diablo II: The Epic Behind the Game  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo II, I, or anything else that blizzard created. In fact, some of my dialog comes directly from the game, for accuracy purposes only. The Characters however are of my own design, directly from my chars on Battle.net  
  
In all my life, one truth strikes me harder than any other:  
  
There is nothing more terrifying than a day-job.  
  
Due to this truth, I have had to take time from my classes to do some freelance writing for a local newspaper and submit to several fantasy publications, including (I hope) Realms of Fantasy magazine and perhaps even Dungeon Magazine.  
  
With any luck, others may soon hear of me.   
  
Despite this, I will attempt to continue the updates on Fanfiction.net. With any luck, I'll be able to manage it all along with classes. After all, who needs sleep? .  
  
The Stony Field- Approximately 0.3 seconds later:  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Hi guys," The rather handsome young man dressed in a simple black tunic waved at Natalie and Raid as they stepped though the portal, only moments ahead of the armored paladin and an unfamiliar red-headed man. "Have a fun trip?"  
  
"Elric?" Natalie looked over her brother for a moment, "What happened to your face?"   
  
"Eh?" Elric reached a finger up and traced it down the scar that still ran from between his eyes, down his nose, and to his upper lip. "Oh, this? An unfortunate souvenir. But, that's neither here nor now."  
  
"Speaking of the 'here-and-now'," Natalie looked about the landscape while Tozam and Cathim stumbled though the portal only moments before the doorway closed. "I don't see the Carin Stones anywhere around here and we need to find them now."  
  
"Hold on, Natalie. Slow down for just a second." The young man said smoothly, "First, did you guys find the Inifuss Tree? Second, do you know how to open the portal? And third..." Elric cocked his head slightly to the side and looked the large-framed, red-haired man over. "Who the hell is this?"  
  
The druid held back for a moment, as if he were sizing this unremarkable young man with brilliant green eyes up.  
  
"I'm Durom, Druid of the third order. Student of Tur Dulra and..."  
  
"'Tree-hugger'. Okay. That's all we need to know." Elric said, nodding in the druid's direction for a moment before turning back to the rest of the group. "I found the Carin Stones, don't worry. I've got someone scouting out the area around the area for possible guards and threats."  
  
"Someone?" Natalie wondered for a moment. "I thought you came out here alone."   
  
"Oh, by the way. We're fine." Preen interrupted sarcastically, "No troubles whatsoever trying to get to the tree. smooth sailing all the way. And hey, don't worry about how long you took to get us here. Just take a few more hours next time so we can get really, 'Reeeeaalllyyyy', ready to face the armies of Hell."  
  
Everyone looked at the paladin with an expression of distain.  
  
"What? Am I the only one who thinks the boy could have hurried though whatever personal problem he had to get to the real crisis?" Preen asked in disbelief.  
  
"You know what..." Elric shook his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I am going to pretend that I didn't hear that just now."  
  
"But..."   
  
"Preen." Raid started calmly. "Shut up."  
  
The paladin looked as though he was about to protest, until he caught a glare from the frequently unpredictable Amazon and looked like he had bit his tongue.  
  
"Okay, now that that's out of the way," Natalie started again, "We should make for the stones at all haste. We have to get to Tristram."  
  
"Does anyone else think it a wee bit too convenient that there's a magical portal in the middle of nowhere that leads to a small town that didn't even become important until a few years ago before the beginning of Kanduras' war with Westmarch." Cathim asked, looking around the landscape for a moment before, squinting into the distant east, he managed to make out the faint sight of five standing stones. "Ah, there they are... but, ummmm, Elric. I don't see this friend of yours. Do you think he's alright?"   
  
"Well, seeing as how this used to be Horadrim territory and Tristram was build outside the ruins of a Horadrim tower and crypt...no. Having Tristram completely clear of monsters, now 'That' would be convenient."  
  
Elric could tell by his friend's voice that there was something else on the necromancer's mind, but figured that it was probably better left un-said. Picking up the faint sent of lavender on the air, he took a guess as to where his newest companion was.  
  
"And, Catty."   
  
"Yes?"   
  
"She's right behind you."  
  
Surprised, Cathim turned around to see nothing but plains, some half-dead looking trees, and some occasional rocks and boulders. Natalie, Tozam and the others, who had turned to see as well, checked back over their shoulders and eyed the calm looking boy.  
  
"Uhhh, is your new companion a ghost of some kind, Elric?" Cathim asked, trying to figure what the half-demon was doing. "Or is 'she' invisible?"  
  
"A little bit of both actually." A sultry voice started out.  
  
"AGGGHHHH!!" Cathim cried out, jumping in surprise (As did everyone else who had turned their attention back to the boy) to find the dark haired, attractive and toned young woman leaning right over his shoulder and talking into his ear.  
  
Elric broke into a playful laugh at the necromancer's expense, while the experienced assassin backed up for a moment and sized the group.   
  
In the momentary silence, Durom noticed that Tozam had slipped closer to Natalie and had leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Is this a betrayal?"  
  
"Tozam," She whispered back, her gaze keeping on the young woman whose clothes and symbols she recognized. "Not right now."  
  
"Well, Little Elric told me about you guys, so let me hazard a guess." She pointed out cathim, "Pale, skeleton engravings on your light, black leather armor. You must be Cathim of the Priesthood of Rathma."  
  
"Aye..." Cathim bowed for a moment, still suspicious of the eerie young woman.   
  
Nodding and letting out a small, cute smile, She turned to each of them in succession. "And, lets see...Arrogant, white armor... That's definitely Preen. Muscular to the point beyond human comprehension: Tozam of Arreat without a doubt. Blond, well-built and a bow...Raid DeAlkirk. I heard your introduction Durom. And..." Finally turning to the sorceress, meeting eyes with the Zann Esu and matching her grimace with a smile.  
  
"You must be Natalie." Kassyera bowed slightly, "Your brother speaks highly of you."   
  
"To you, I'm sure that he does. Viz-Jaq'taar." Natalie said coldly.   
  
"An Assassin?" Durom asked in disbelief, recognizing the ancient name of the Order of Mage Slayers.   
  
"And a pretty good one at that." Elric said lightly, taking little notice of the daggers blazing from his sister's eyes. "This is Kassyera of the Viz-Jaq'taar. We helped each other out on the fields and she kinda stuck to me."  
  
"Elric..." Natalie turned to her brother, wiping the smug grin from his face with a tone was only a little shy of being homicidal. "We have an important job to do! You don't need to be running about all over the country side to try and rescue damsels in distress!"  
  
"Uhhhh, Natalie..."  
  
"Have you forgotten that Andariel has taken the Rogue's monastery and now threatens every life in this land. We just don't have the time, we don't need the inclination..."  
  
"NATALIE!" Elric had to raise his voice to get his sister's attention. "I'm behaving around the child of light over there," Elric nodded in Preen's general direction, getting a glare from the paladin. " So, do me a favor and try to get off her back."  
  
"Murderers." Natalie went on. "Killers that move though the night, all of you. You believe it's your right to execute any magic user who doesn't live up to their standards."  
  
"That is our right." Kassyera said flatly, obviously used to this sort of treatment. "In fact, it is our reason for being."  
  
"Slipping into a high sorceress's bed-chamber and killing her in her sleep! Do you really expect me just drop that?!"   
  
"Not one of my assignments, I'm afraid..." Kassyera shrugged indifferently. "I've never had the privilege of having targets among the Zann Esu."  
  
"We don't need your help, Mage Slayer!" Now it was Natalie trembling clenching her fist around her staff.   
  
"Then you don't need to know that the stones are being guarded by at least two dozen fallen warriors, including a nasty looking blue-skin?"  
  
"A fallen king," Preen sighed, shaking his head. "Well, that makes it all the more difficult."   
  
"We can do well enough without you!"  
  
"Maybe, maybe not." Elric was tired of this pointless battle of wits and jotting something down on a small sheet of parchment with a charcoal pen. "Regardless who's right, who's wrong, and who the hell we are getting involved with. MAY I REMIND YOU... That we do have a mission here?"  
  
"I agree with Elric, which is something that I feel very strange saying." Cathim decided to get this whole thing out of the way. "So, Tozam brought a paladin. I got over it. Natalie: Elric brought an assassin. GET OVER IT! Preen: I am a necromancer. GET OVER IT! Raid: Tozam ate your last meat bun this morning..."  
  
Raid looked up at the necromancer with wide eyes.  
  
"HE DID WHAT!!!" She shouted, turning to the barbarian that was now inching away from her. "YOU BASTARD! THAT WAS MY LAST ONE! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD IT IS TO FIND AMAZONIAN MEAT BUNS IN THIS PLACE!! DO YOU!!!!!"  
  
Cathim paid her no attention as he went on.  
  
"...GET OVER IT!! Durom:... Well, you seem to be just fine, so I'll leave you alone."  
  
"My thanks for leaving me out of it." Durom said, confused as to how, as well trained as they were, this unruly band of adventurers could possibly hope to exist together.  
  
"I will NOT travel with an Assassin!" Natalie burst out, scowling at the surrounding.  
  
"Oh, do speak a little louder, Woman." Tozam rolled his eyes, wondering why Natalie was being so stupid. "I don't think that Andariel could hear you."  
  
"Okay, MAN! Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Raid took Tozam's attention away, reaching up and jerking his head down so that she could look him in the eye.  
  
"And besides, sorceress, I am not joining your little 'adventuring party'."  
  
"Then why...?"  
  
"We're merely going in the same direction. And unless you are ruler of this monster infested land, you have no authority to stop me. I'll go where ever I damn well please, regardless of the company."  
  
"She has a point, Natalie..." Tozam interrupted.  
  
"HEY! PAY ATTENTION! I'm 'NOT' done with you!!!" Raid seethed in anger.   
  
"What are you squawking about? That thing was hard as a rock and probably two weeks past stale."  
  
"THEIR SUPPOSED TO BE HARD, YOU DUNCE!"  
  
"Now, I'm warning you, Viz-Jaq'taar. You keep your distance or..."  
  
"You're warning me, Zann Esu? Where do you get the nerve?"  
  
"It all comes from the company we keep. Right, Elric?" Natalie turned a glance behind her and was shocked to realize that her half-demon brother was nowhere to be seen. "Elric...? Did anybody see where Elric went?"  
  
Now, everybody was looking around, having been so worked up in each of their arguments or watching the others. It took several moments of confused looking about before:  
  
"Hey, Tozam..." Raid circled around the barbarian until she stood behind him. "Did you know that there's a note on your back?"  
  
"What...What does it say?"  
  
"It says 'Gone to dispatch monsters. Be back momentarily. -Elric'"  
  
"What the... Hey, how did he get a note on my back?"  
  
"It looks like he stuck the paper to your armor with a needle."   
  
"AGH! GET IT OUT! It'll crack the leather."  
  
"What? When did he..." Preen suddenly noticed a slight shift in his balance. His eyes wide, he looked down to his right side.  
  
His sword was missing.  
  
"Ohhhh..." Natalie looked on, putting it all together. "Little brother...you will be the death of me."  
  
"Does he do this sort of thing often?" The assassin asked, hardly believing that she, out of the diverse assortment gathered here, had missed the halfling's exit.  
  
"Well, there was that time in the den of evil..." Tozam reminisced.   
  
"And the going off to that quest for Kashya..." Cathim continued, counting on his fingers.  
  
"Well, at least he hasn't changed since we were younger." Natalie shook her head, looking out to the east toward the Carin Stones. "He has the damndest ways to end an argument and move onto business."  
  
"Okay... Preen said, pulling out his scepter and slinging his shield around to his left. "Then let us get on with the smiting and save the boy from himself."  
  
"Yeah...right." Kassyera muttered under her breath, just loud enough for Natalie, who was closest to her, to hear. "The paladin doesn't know. He has no idea, does he?" The assassin asked softly, walking past the sorceress.  
  
Natalie's eyes went wide at the words and she was struck speechless.  
  
----------------------------------  
  
Rakaisash was not just shocked when he realized there was a man with a sword tearing though his people.   
  
He was relived.  
  
After weeks of boredom guarding these dull stones in the middle of nowhere, after having to entertain his tribe with executions and the occasional animal sacrifice for far too long, he was so glad for the sudden action.  
  
And then, he noticed that this simple, unremarkable man was decimating his forces in a way that an entire troop of archers could not.  
  
----------------------------------  
  
"HI-Yaaa!" Elric spun around quickly, severing one of the fallen's heads while giving the boot to another and flinging it aside.  
  
'Not bad.' Elric thought, listening with pleasure to the sound of the bloody, severed head thumping to the ground. 'Good balance, defined sharp edge and superb craftsmanship. Well, Preen may be an arrogant fool, but he has great taste in weapons.'  
  
Elric had to stop his train of thought as he tried to continue his movements and keep the incoming fallen away. Despite the fact that any warrior watching him might applaud his skill with a blade, Elric felt clumsy, slow, and restrained with it in his bony, frail human fingers.   
  
In his human form, Elric felt that he lacked the grace and efficiency for battle he had taken for granted over the past few months. Still, considering the fact that he hadn't wielded a man-made weapon for months, he was doing pretty well.   
  
A quick turn of the enemy's blade and a fine, strong swing filled the air with another spray of blood.   
  
A delight to his senses.  
  
And an unfortunate awakening.  
  
'Too slow... far too slow. Release us... rend them with claws and teeth. Leave the sword for the hu-man...'  
  
"Okay you, shut up!" Elric said forcefully, slashing out and cutting down another of the fallen.  
  
"Raka-shu!" Elric heard a high-pitched, scratchy voice call out from behind him. Twisting about (and sweeping two fallen warriors off of their feet) he saw the speaker to be a blue skinned, smiling fallen with few differences from the small camp that he commanded.  
  
"Yeah, keep smiling, Blue! I'll get to you in a minute!" Elric shouted over the din of the surrounding warriors. Then, he was jarred with a sudden realization.  
  
'Raka-shu' was a demon spell that translated into...  
  
...Lightning Enchantment.  
  
"Oh... HELL!" Elric swung hard around in an attempt to make way, hoping to escape the initial onslaught of the magic.  
  
Failure, he realized, was on him as he, and the surrounding fallen warriors, were suddenly alight with energy. A burning, painful aura that shot straight up from the ground, planting him where he was, and very nearly paralyzed him into a swoon.   
  
Many, but not all, of the surrounding warriors were almost instantly overwhelmed by the attack of their lightning enchanted leader. With some flying off the ground and landing on their comrades while others simply had their hearts or heads mercifully explode.  
  
Of course, Elric now remembered why he had stopped carrying around metal weapons. While the hand-piece was well made, it was never designed to resist this sort of attack and, as such, was constructed entirely of metal. Good for slaying monsters, bad for someone being slowly electrocuted.  
  
"Raka-shu, hue-man! We kill ya now!" The blue skinned fallen king laughed, lifting his unimpressive little scimitar above his head in celebration as though they had already won. "Feastes we shall have! Feastes on hue-man skin!"  
  
Elric dropped the paladin's weapon and fell to his hands and knees, letting a chuckle pass his gritted teeth as he thought of how easily this situation could be handled.  
  
"Not tonight you won't..." Elric whispered, his tongue suddenly shrinking in size and thinning out to it's natural forked form. "Even if you could beat me, you wouldn't be eating man flesh."  
  
The half-demon readied himself, fully prepared to rip straight out of the false skin and rip that smug king's head clean off.  
  
But before he could rip his way though his skin, the pulses of energy stopped flowing up his legs and the numbing, paralyzing tingle was gone. Elric lifted his head inquisitively as the blue skinned fallen king fell to the ground, his skull crushed.  
  
"HAZHAA!!" The paladin walked into Elric's view, twirling his bloody scepter about like a baton. "I will now take your vows of undying gratitude in exchange for saving your life."  
  
"Preen..." Elric closed his eyes and reached down, his fingers gripping the sword that he had dropped before. "Don't make me hurt you."  
  
"Well, how's that for gratitude!" The paladin grunted with indignation.  
  
"DIE FALLEN SCUM!" Elric heard Tozam cry out behind him just before a small corpse flew over his head and crashed into one of the surrounding stones.  
  
"Tozam... That one was already dead." He heard Cathim reprimand the barbarian.  
  
"He was twitching."  
  
"Perhaps it was a side effect from that gapping hole that I put into it's belly a moment ago. Teeth spells do have a habit of doing that."  
  
"You guys are crazy." Raid said shortly, pulling several arrows from corpses on the ground.  
  
"What??? Okay, when did you guys get here exactly?" Elric got off of his knees and saw the entire party around him doing their various things.   
  
Tozam was complaining to Cathim about stealing his kill. Durom looked from body to body to make sure that they were all dead. Raid was checking the creatures she had shot to see if the arrows were re-usable (or might be carrying gold) and Natalie was now standing in the center of the Carin Stones, an open scroll in her hand.  
  
That left Preen to answer his questions.  
  
"Why, we came to your rescue, boy. Really, the things that you young people do for attention. We managed to get up behind the group while their leader was so intently focused on you."  
  
"Yeah! Everyone else got into the fray, but could I? Noooooooooo. Why? Because the wizards and the archer have 'Range'." Tozam started to put in, sarcasm thick in his voice. "What's so great about range, Huh? You may think it's all that, but if there were like, a hundred of them..."  
  
"Then you guys would need me to save you again?" Elric objected, getting back to his feet at last.   
  
"You know, I really thought that we were past all that."  
  
"Hey?! That's my sword!" Preen shouted out as though he had just realized what blade Elric was holding.   
  
"Yeah?" Elric lifted the blade up, letting thee blood drip off of the edge. "It needs cleaned."  
  
"Guys! I think I've got it!" Natalie's voice came as a welcome change of subject. Everyone quickly dropped what they were doing and what they were saying for the run.  
  
"Let's see," Natalie was holding the scroll side-ways, as though it would reveal more of it's secrets. "All we should have to do is touch each of the stones in a certain order, say the incantations, and then we should be on our way."  
  
"Atta girl, Natalie. Just point me n the right direction and let's get bloody!" Tozam sad with an infectious fervor over his words.   
  
"Get back, sword slinger" Natalie's tone was harsh as she checked over the scroll again, making absolutely sure that there would be no mistakes where such ancient magic was concerned. " South-west stone first." She took a step from the center of the ring and touch one of the stones, which lit up almost immediately upon her touch. Whispering instructions to herself, the rest of the group watched as the sorceress went from stone to stone, lighting up the carvings and inscriptions in each of them.  
  
"Ohhh, pretty lights." Raid said happily as the last of the glowing stones lit up.   
  
"Well, if that tickled your fancy, then this should bolt you to the ground." Natalie told the Amazon, enjoying this feeling of holding a captive audience. Taking one last look at the scroll to make sure that she had it right. "Let's see, I believe that this goes... 'Armadan Sarloris Dicamnine'."   
  
Natalie shouted out, throwing her hands up and focusing all of her mana to the ground beneath her just as the scroll instructed.   
  
Natalie stood completely still, with the group waiting for a moment, with all but one of them bracing themselves for wonder.   
  
After about a minute, Natalie opened one eye curiously and looked around, having expected some grand explosion or teleportation to suddenly take them all away from this place.   
  
Then, Tozam broke the silence.  
  
"Uhh, Nothing's happening."  
  
"I don't understand it..." Natalie let her arms fall and started to pace around nervously, trying to figure out what had been done wrong. "Activate the stones...read off the incantation... focus magic in the center of the circle. What are we missing?"  
  
"So, what are we going to do?" Preen asked stepping into the ring and looking around the glowing stones.   
  
The others milled about for a moment, trying their hardest to come up with ideas. These stones had been the whole point of their venture. The hope that they might be able to find a guild that might help them with their ultimate goal.   
  
Elric however walked around the ring, looking at the base of each stone and reading the high-demonica runes that had been etched into the stones.   
  
'An arcania lock.' Elric thought to himself, shaking his head. If Andariel knew what this place was, if she did know that these rings were capable of taking a person hundreds of miles away, then she should have used something more complicated. To anyone who knew the language, this was child's play.   
  
"Assimar..." Elric hissed out the name of the symbol quietly, his thin forked tongue escaping from between his teeth on the 'S's then moved onto the next one. "Ordsiaa...Sarcaarrris...Melfice... Bubluzia."   
  
"Elric, any ideas?" Natalie looked out from the center of the stones, where the others were moving though, touching the stones as if they would find some revolutionary way to open the doorway.   
  
Elric thought for a moment before he felt a sudden welling up of magical forces.  
  
"Well, you guys might wanna...I don't know... MOVE!"   
  
"What? Why?" Natalie managed to ask just before the glowing symbols on the Carin Stones exploded into color. Realization came a split second later as she too felt the energy gathering within the enchanted stones.  
  
"EVERYONE! OUT OF THE RING!" Natalie shouted out, quickly jumping between the stones.   
  
Why was it all of the others, the different warriors and magic users were able to heed this warning without question? Why was it that all but one of them had the presence of mind to run, dive, jump or otherwise get out of the ring without delay.  
  
"Hello...?" Preen didn't heed the sorceress's warning, thinking that he might have found something of importance. "There's something here written from holy text..."  
  
That was as far as the paladin managed to get before a enormous crackling and a bolt of lighting erupted from the stone that he had his hand on, sending the knight of the Zakarum careening back and out of the ring.  
  
The lightning bounced around from stone to stone, gathering strength and intensity with each ricochet. In a matter of moments, the air was filled with the sound of crackling energy. Finally, the fast moving, expanding bolt of energy became complete, with every stone connected by an intense line of light.  
  
And then, the energy died out for a moment, only to explode and race to the center, joining there for a moment before forming into a standing pool of burning hot red magma. The lightning died out after the shimmering pool became stable allowing the group to turn their attention to the paladin.   
  
Preen was laying on his back, the entire front of his armor blackened by the impact of energy. Though he was wearing heavy padding and a helmet, Elric was betting that the paladin's hair was standing straight on end. Aside from that, Preen's eyes were wide open and darting back and forth.  
  
Raid seemed somewhat concerned.  
  
"Okay, enough with the break." The Amazon kicked out at the paladin playfully, just enough to turn him over. "Come on, we have important business to take care of."  
  
"I saw the light...and it was so beautiful..." Preen managed to get out, slurring his speech slightly before sitting up stiffly. "Hey, guys...I think I just had a religious experience." He said, only a moment before looking from side to side and realizing that he was still in the middle of a cold field surrounded by heretics and non-believers.   
  
"No...no fellow light warrior brethren to my aid. What happened then?"  
  
"You just got popped with about sixty million volts of electricity." Cathim told the paladin, smirking slightly.   
  
"It's not a blood hawks nest. But, what the hey, that seems to have worked just as well.   
  
Kassyera gazed at the newly formed portal in wonder, stepping around the ring of stones once before she found it in her to ask a question.  
  
"And...this portal shall lead us to Tristram?"  
  
"Right into the maw of death and destruction, Assassin." Natalie smiled, glad to see the apparent fear and dissidence in the wretched Viz-Jaq'taar. "Why, simply walking into the portal is like walking straight into the fires of hell and damnation."  
  
"A first step to vanquishing all evil!" Preen got to his feet at last, looking into the streaming, blood-red circle of standing water as though it were as welcoming as a door leading out to a peaceful spring day. "We haven't come all this way for nothing."  
  
"Aye." Tozam pulled out both of his blades, and readied them for action. "TO TRISTRAM!" He called out, charging forth and straight into the pool of blood-red water, disappearing into it's depths.  
  
"Wha..." Preen was taken aback. "HEY! NO ONE RUSHES HEADLONG INTO DANGER BEFORE ME! HAI AKARAT!!" The paladin shouted, doubling his normal charging speed and nearly tripping over himself as he leaped though the portal.   
  
"Can we close the portal and leave them there? Please?" Cathim looked at Natalie, who gave an almost immediate 'absolutely-not-how-dare-you-ask- sort of glance.  
  
The necromancer merely shrugged.  
  
"Okay. But I'm not going to rush in like those fools." He said, calmly walking to the center of the stone ring and, taking a moment for a cleansing breath, stepped though the portal.  
  
Durom, the only one of their company who's goals were unknown to Elric, was next, not even saying a word as he quickly moved himself up to the center of the circle and walked though without hesitation.   
  
"You know what...I really didn't think we'd make it this far. So, if it's all the same to you. I think I'll head back. You know... feeling just a wee bit out of my league here. So... um... Ta." Raid started to speak really fast and turned around as if to leave.   
  
"What?" Natalie grinned, watching the Amazon try to get away. "Is a great and powerful Amazon going to whimper away with her tail between her legs while a bunch of 'Men' fight their way valiantly thought the hoards of gold-carrying monsters and earn a place in the songs and hearts of Rogues for generations?"  
  
If looks could kill, then the glare that Raid gave to the sorceress would have likely imploded a small moon. Still, it seemed enough motivation to get the blond warrioress though the portal, for she walked straight past Elric and into the standing water without another delay.  
  
"Well, Assassin." Natalie nodded toward the Viz-Jaq'taar. "Here we part ways. I must say that our time together will most certainly...'linger'. On you go now, back to your murderous duties and twisted assignments."  
  
"Oh, no you don't, Zann Esu." Kassyera shook her head, put off by the way that Natalie had tried so abysmally to dismiss her. "This is the adventure of a life-time. One to tell the children in my later years. And one that I shall most certainly enjoy telling. Do try to keep up, Sorceress. One never does know when the pursuing monster might gain a little boost of speed and overtake you."   
  
Kassyera laughed softly, moving to the center of the ring and looking out to Elric, who had watched all of the passing events quietly and with only mild interest.   
  
"Well, see you on the other side, Half-demon. And I do mean on the other side of this portal and not in the afterlife. Let us just hope that your delightful team is able to handle the task that they have set for themselves." And then the dark haired assassin was gone, walking in though the mystical doorway with her eyes still locked with Elric's.  
  
" 'One to tell the children'?" Natalie shuttered, "Ugh. Those people actually breed. Truly a saddening thought." Then noting her brother's apparent detachment from the whole situation, Natalie walked over to him and put an arm around his shoulder, drawing both a slight jump and hiss of pain from the half-demon.  
  
"Elric? Are you hurt?" She asked quickly removing her arm.   
  
"I'll be fine." Elric replied, his eyes never moving from the shimmering portal. "Look, the others probably need you if that gate really led right into Tristram. You should go."  
  
"What are you thinking!? You're wounded and you go running headlong into a small hoard of fallen. Now you're going into a demon infested township? Elric, take a moment and rest. I'll get you a healing po..."  
  
"Natalie!" The half-demon hissed, his forked tongue slipping out and his eyes suddenly clouding over to a misty red.   
  
Shocked by his reaction, the sorceress jumped back about a foot, looking at her brother in a slight bit of distress.  
  
"Go..." He said, biting his tongue as he said it and closing his eyes. "I'll be along in a moment."  
  
"Elric...what's wrong?" Natalie side-stepped around him, now standing in front of the half-breed. "You can tell me anything, little brother. That's what I'm here for."  
  
'No...Natalie.' Elric thought, clamping his sharpening teeth tightly together. 'No...I can't.'  
  
But instead he said:  
  
"The others will need you to get though this, Nat. Go on. I'm fine."   
  
Getting the hint that she should not push any further with her brother at this precise moment, Natalie backed away, looking at her brother with a sad, resigned look.   
  
If she could do anything at that moment, it would have been to see just what was going on inside her little brother's head.  
  
'Then again, perhaps I don't' She thought, keeping her eyes tamed on Elric even as she passed though the mystical gateway, disappearing into it's shimmering mass.  
  
----------------------  
  
'Tristram...' Elric thought.  
  
He had planned to never return to that accursed place. The events that he had set in motion. The things that he had seen.   
  
All that he had learned about his kind he had learned in the monastery beneath Tristram.   
  
He had never wanted to return. And with all that had happened recently, Blood Raven... and the vision of Cain...that resolution had only been strengthened.   
  
"I don't believe in fate" He had once said. Yet, everything that had happened over the last few days had shaken that belief.  
  
"Damn it, Tyrael." Elric stammered under his breath. "If you're doing this, then what the hell do you want from me?"   
  
Elric shook his head.   
  
He didn't want to go back to Tristram.  
  
Why, then was he walking into the center of the ring and stepping though the portal that would take him back to the doomed city?  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Uhhhh....Looks around at the many clowns, angry fans, and rabid badgers that have surrounded the author. Okay... I'm a little late and the chapter was sort of... broken in half... Sorry about that, but, as was stated above, a zillion and one things got in the way.  
  
I would go into detail, but I'm afraid that it would only prolong the amount of torture that I have coming to me.   
  
Elric: Hey, Robin? Where did you want me to put all of the DVD's and books that you ordered for...  
  
Robin: MY MIDTERM! RIGHT! Sweatdrop Thank you Elric... This will help greatly! I only hope to finish the English Lit essay before the end of next week!  
  
Elric: Ummm, Robin. You finished that Essay two days ago. You said that you needed some time off, so you ordered this stuff to...  
  
Robin: THANK YOU ELRIC! FANS ARE LISTENING SO LETS NOT KEEP THEM WAITING!!!  
  
Anyways! Part two should be out before too long, and then a third chapter should be posted by friday.  
  
Elric: If he doesn't get wrapped up in 'The West Wing', Star Trek: TGN, Lord of the Rings, and anime.  
  
Robin: DON'T MAKE ME SEND YOU BACK TO THE 'Place Worse than Hell'!  
  
Elric: Ummmm, if anybody is reading this, then please get in touch with Ramaon and tell her to come and break me out of that horrible place again.  
  
Anyways. Please accept my most humble apologies for taking so long in updating. Hopefully I'll be able to post at least three chapters this week to counter the unfortunate gap in updates.  
  
What else... Oh, yeah. Thank you all for the R&R. I Enjoy it more than any of you can understand. Hope only for more.  
  
Well, until next time (Hopefully in a few hours)  
  
This is Robin, signing off. 


	13. Chapter 12: Tristram: The Hunt for Cain

Diablo II: The Epic Behind the Game  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo II, I, or anything else that blizzard created. In fact, some of my dialog comes directly from the game, for accuracy purposes only. The Characters however are of my own design, directly from my chars on  
  
"On June 23, 2004, the author, Robin Shirewood, disappeared without a trace. Furious due to the sudden void in her life, everyone's favorite author tracking, shotgun wielding, and slightly insane Ramaon, roamed the southern United States in search of the missing writer.  
  
This document, and the author who's hand was attached to it, were eventually found in the mountains of Northern Georgia USA.  
  
As it turns out, he had been incapacitated in a bizarre Dungeons and Dragons related accident."  
  
Robin: So...much...Anti-DM aggression.  
Ramaon: (Sigh)...why must the talented always be so strange? (Pries floppy disk from death-grip) Robin: Hold me… Ramaon: (Bonks Robin on the head)  
  
We now return you to.  
The Return to Tristram.  
  
The Crystal Arch, Seventh Plain of the High Heavens:  
------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"WE CAN NOT ABANDON THEM! They are more important than that!" Tyrael shouted out, his virtuous and commanding voice ringing within the great, shining Crystal Citadel, surrounded by the awesome beauty obtainable only in this most holy of heavenly places.  
  
For ageless millennia, warriors of the heavens had followed every order of that powerful voice. They had sacrificed themselves, martyred themselves, shared victory and defeat under the ring of that same conviction. But now, Tyrael was not in command. For the three heavenly beings seated before him, basking in their place of honor beneath the mighty Crystal Arch were the greatest and purest of the Seraphim. Their names forgotten long ago, lost to the passing of time, even in this hallowed place, they were known only as 'The Crystal Council'. The three, two male and one female, arch-angels had held their positions since the beginning of known time.  
Since the start of the Great Conflict itself.  
  
"It is truly..." One began, stopping for a moment while another of The Council picked up his sentence. They always spoke as one, with each of them taking on apart of the other's words.  
  
"...A pity. However..."  
  
"...The mortal realm is..."  
  
"...Now a liability we can not protect."  
  
Despite the word of the council, Tyrael, who had led armies against the legions of chaos for centuries beyond count, did not back down.  
  
"The Demon Lord, Diablo, is loosed upon the Mortal world." Tyrael said, repeating his before statement. "He will ravage the lands of men until they are barren. The powers of Hell shall not halt until they have found whatever they have sought for so long!"  
  
"The Demon Lord's..."  
  
"...power has been broken. He..."  
  
"...Is not the threat he once was."  
  
"Greater enemies stir. Now..."  
  
"..,The fires of War..."  
  
"...Have run out in Hell."  
  
"Azmodan and Belial have..."  
  
"...Ceased their fighting at last."  
  
"The Peace of The Heavens..."  
  
"...Is over. We must now look..."  
  
"...To our own gates and watchtowers."  
  
"Does the council not find it unusual?" Tyrael tried to plead. "That the civil war in Hell would end the moment that Diablo has escaped from his prison? There is something more to all of this, and we must look beyond our own gates and realms to find the truth!"  
  
"Diablo escaped, Tyrael..."  
  
"...Because your mortal not hold to their oaths. Now..."  
  
"...You wish to intervene..."  
  
"...Yet again to aid those of the Mortal World."  
  
"You wish to finish the feud..."  
  
"...Between yourself and the Demon Lord."  
  
"You should have chosen..."  
  
"...Better guardians for..."  
  
"...the Soul Stones."  
  
"Human's do not live forever! They can not hold to a task indefinitely, especially not when such a task seems finished! Neither man or angel could have foreseen the events leading up to the release of Terror."  
  
"We can spare no more..."  
  
"...Warriors to aid the human race. If..."  
  
"...They are to survive the coming war,..."  
  
"...They must do so on their own."  
  
"NO! DAMMIT ALL! DON'T YOU SEE!" Tyrael shouted, forgetting that he was addressing three of the only Arch-Angels in existence that were his superiors. "Something of monumental importance is going to happen! And it will take place in the Moral Realm! Diablo is up to something! And he has either regained the loyalty of Azmodan and Belial, or he has destroyed them! WE MUST STOP TERROR NOW!"  
  
" You forget..."  
  
"...Your place, Tyrael. Humans..."  
  
"...Are a mere novelty. They were..."  
  
"...Never meant to last in the Great War."  
  
"The Great Conflict between..."  
  
"...The Heavens and the Hells..."  
  
"...Shall last forevermore."  
  
"Sanctuary is but a...  
  
"...Passing dream."  
  
"Mankind is but a..."  
  
"...Distraction from our duties."  
  
"Your fascination with the humans..."  
  
"...Must end immediately, Commander Tyrael."  
  
"You are now ordered..."  
  
"...To the Pandemonium Fortress. There..."  
  
"...You will command the first response armies..."  
  
"...When Azmodan and Belial attack."  
  
Tyrael shook his hooded head. Human philosophers had a word for this sinless flaw of the Council's... What was it?  
  
'Arrogance' He believed... Or 'Decadence.  
Still, he saw little that he could do. Even as commander of all of Heaven's armies, Tyrael had no power to counteract the word of The Crystal Council.  
  
There were, however, a few things that he had learned while in the company of men.  
  
"As you wish, my lords." Tyrael bowed humbly. "I do, however, have one, small, request to ask of you."  
----------------------------------------  
:::Tristram:::  
  
The relative silence of the dark, grassy plains outside the former township was shattered by the loud crackling of lighting. Moments later, out of nothingness, formed a large, blood-red ring of standing water.  
  
A savage battle-cry filled the air suddenly, as out of the pool of water burst the muscular form of Tozam The Barbarian. Teeth bared and ready for battle, the large warrior held each of his enchanted swords. Stopping for a moment, Tozam looked around to see a nearly empty field around him, with the only sign of life being a fat looking cow laying on it's side some hundred feet away.  
  
"Huh?" Tozam dropped his arms to his side and brought one hand up to scratch his head. "Where're all the..."  
  
He was unable to finish his train of thought, because at that exact moment a handsome, skilled, and armored paladin came rushing though the open portal and slammed hard into Tozam's broad and well-formed back. The barbarian did not budge from his spot, but the unfortunate paladin was thrown back and landed heavily on his backside, his head only an inch from the portal.  
  
"Aye!" Preen cried out as he ht the ground! "What are you doing standing there, Tozam?! Where are the armies of evil that we came to defeat?!"  
  
The paladin only had a moment to recollect himself and look about before being kicked by an incoming necromancer.  
  
"Oh!" Cathim jumped, having not expected to find the paladin in that position already. "Strange, paladin." Cathim shook his head.  
"For all your skill, you have yet to master the laws of physics. For instants, when struck by a bolt of lightning, most people die. You completely ignored that little fact. And usually, an enemy is supposed to be around to knock you on your arse before you actually end up ON your arse."  
  
Durom and Raid came though a few moments later, with Durom looking as grim and indifferent as ever and Raid heaving her bow right into battle position.  
  
"Uhhh," Raid swerved from side to side, bringing her notched arrow around in any direction that she was facing. "Not that I'm complaining, but where are all the hellish monsters carrying gold?" She asked just as Durom helped Preen to his feet and Kassyera stepped though the portal.  
  
"Well," Kassyera looked around as well, surprised as everyone else that there were no enemies in sight. "This place is charming."  
  
Tozam looked about and took several cautious steps forward, looking with most interest to the fat cow lying on it's side. The others also made themselves ready, holding weapons at ready while casting paranoid glances across the landscape. Looking up to the sky curiously just as Natalie stepped though the portal, Durom asked:  
  
"Why is it so dark here? It was mid-day when we passed though the portal on the Stony Field."  
  
Looking up and taking in the situation, Natalie was disturbed by her own conclusion.  
  
"It's still mid-day... The evil in the air has blotted out most of the sun's light."  
  
"And you became an expert on the effects of monsters on the environment... When?" Kassyera asked cynically.  
  
"Go chew on a quill rat, assassin!"  
  
"Strange..." Tozam's voice came from a distance, "Hey, guys! Come take a look at this!" The barbarian gestured over to his party members from his kneeling position next to the cow.  
  
Curious as to what the barbarian had found, the group rushed over without question and leaned over him.  
  
"Is it dead?" Preen asked, only glancing at the steer before looking back around to make sure that there were no monsters sneaking up on them.  
  
"That's just it..." Tozam said with an air of mystery. "It looks like it's breathing, but the damage to the beast's throat and body are far too extensive for it to still be alive."  
  
It was about this time that Elric finally came though the portal. Being the only one who did not believe that the portal would be swarmed by demons, Elric walked though easily and looked around with a lazy interest and took a sniff of the air.  
  
'Something burns to the south...' He thought, interpreting the heavy, wood smoking and figuring the direction of the wind. Quickly taking stock of his surroundings, Elric found that he recognized the place.  
  
Tristram was less than an hour south of here on foot.  
  
"Hey guys!" The half-demon called out looking to where the others had congregated before he realized that something had caught their attention. "What'd you find?"  
  
"Not sure, Elric." Tozam answered back, reaching out one of his blades to prod the still moving creature gently. "Why don't you come take a..."  
  
POP!  
  
With a sickening burst, the entire body of the steer exploded outward, smothering most of the surrounding warriors in blood and large hunks of meat and bone.  
  
"Never mind..." Tozam said, shaking his head and pondering what had just happened.  
  
"Okay... That was one of the grossest things to have ever happened to me." Raid told them all, standing up and using a free hand to wring small bits of blood and meat out of her ponytail.  
  
"Oh... I think I'm gonna be sick..." Natalie backed off quickly.  
  
At first, the others thought that the sorceress's reaction was to the unexplained explosion of meat and gore. However, as each of them quickly realized, the bits of blood were the least of their worries. Writhing and squirming in the now exposed body cavity of the poor beast were small, maggot-like worms with only one distinct feature.  
A row of tiny razor sharp fangs.  
  
With raw flesh so readily available, the small monsters ignored the surrounding humans and gnawed thought muscle, fat, and organs with equal glee.  
  
"What the hell are these 'Things'!?" Kassyera managed to say quickly, taking a few steps back. She had dealt with the most depraved of warlocks in the past, but these disgusting, vile worms were outside of her experience.  
  
Without warning, the animal's corpse combusted, bursting into intense, bright red flames. And, though none of the human warriors or warrioresses knew the twisted, bizarre language that they heard, they were all sure that they could hear distant shouting and screams of pain from within the blaze.  
  
"Natalie! Damn it all, I know they were disgusting, but was that really...?" Cathim started, having been far more curious about the maggot than disgusted by them.  
  
"I didn't do that." Natalie told the others calmly.  
  
"I did." Elric walked up, watching the burning cow. "Those were hell-born pain worms, guys, and if I were you, I would make sure that none of them got on you when the cow burst."  
  
"What..." Natalie looked back to the flame, still hearing an ever so faint scream. Neither she, or any of the others had ever heard of a hell-born pain worm.  
  
Cathim looked up to the half-demon with indignation.  
"Elric! Part of being a magic user involves studying anything that we come across! You can't just burn something because it's disgusting"  
  
"Uhhh, Catty... Those things bore into your skin, make a drive to vital organs, wrack your body with unworldly pain, and then multiply until you are ready to explode and spread them around other creatures nearby. That's about as much as you would probably want to know."  
  
Eyes went wide at this news and a druid, an assassin, an Amazon, a paladin, a sorceress and a barbarian all started to frantically check themselves over, trying as hard as they could to find any of the small white worms on their armor and clothing.  
  
"Oh...well..." Cathim lost his indignation and nodded at the half-demon with appreciation. "Thank you. I believe that will suffice my curiosity."  
  
"A kamikaze cow?" Raid shook her head, hoping that she had removed any intruding worms from her hair. "What the hell else do these things have here?"  
  
Elric looked over to the Amazon, a blank gaze over his eyes.  
"If this is enough to turn your stomach, then I'd advise you to start walking home. Pain worms are the least of our troubles here."  
  
The other party members looked to the youth that spoke, amazed by the sudden solemn tone in his voice. Aside from that was the complete change in his eyes, which no longer shined with their normal green luster.  
  
Cathim realized it, if no one else did. He was serious. For the first time since the necromancer had met the half-demon, Elric was completely serious about this battle.  
  
"He's right." Natalie stood up, absently brushing away the blood that covered the front of her green outfit and trying not to think about how long it would take her to get clean. "Let's start a search pattern. Everyone out in teams of two in each direction until we find the township. The portal couldn't have put us too far away from Tristram."  
  
"It didn't." Elric said with certainty, not wanting to waste time. "We move south. Try to be quite." With that, Elric started jogging of into the south.  
  
"What...?" Preen was not sure if he was more shocked by Elric's confidence or by the fact that Natalie, Cathim, and Tozam had no problem getting up and moving behind the boy. "Hold on! What makes you so sure about that?!"  
  
"He has a nose for these kind of things." Kassyera told him, moving up to follow the half-demon as well.  
  
"But... Wait! We have to have a plan for battle!" Preen called after them, his own feeling for silence taking a back seat to his feeling of indignation. "We need an attack strategy!"  
  
"Fight or flee, Preen of Kurast." Durom said stoically, getting up as well to follow the others. "All strategies are mere variations of these two. And I for one have no intention of fleeing."  
  
"But..." Preen grunted, hating the fact that the group did not seem to take the subtleties of battle in any seriousness whatsoever. "Raid, you are a trained soldier. Surely you understand the need for battle strategies?"  
  
"Yes. I do, Preen." Raid answered, pulling her hair-tie off and letting her long blond hair hang loose behind her. "I also know that no plan, no matter how well thought out, survives initial impact. And, to top it all off, there are few usable strategies for two people. So, I think I'll stay with the group." The Amazon shouldered her bow and started her own jog down after the others.  
  
"BUT...! RAID!!!" Preen shouted after her in vain. The paladin was now left alone next to the still burning animal carcass and the broiled pain worms.  
  
'This 'Elric' is an obvious hot-head.' Preen thought, watching the others as they moved quickly southward. 'He is knowledgeable and has some skill for magic, but far too eager for battle, limited in experience at best, and has absolutely no respect for his superiors.'  
  
Preen let out a cleansing breath before he also started sprinting after the others.  
'A true paladin of the Zakarum does not follow...' He heard his father's oft repeated words ring thought his head.  
  
"He only leads..." Preen finished out loud. -----------------------------------  
  
"This place was attacked months ago, wasn't it?" Tozam asked, trying to keep his voice down as he scrunched down behind the half-gone stone wall that once marked the outermost boarder of Tristram.  
  
"Yeah." Raid answered, looking around and hoping that they wouldn't be seen. "So?"  
  
"Why is it still on fire?" The barbarian asked.  
  
The group had found the found their way to the former township with ease, and now lie in wait as Elric, Natalie, Kassyera, and Preen "Discussed" various battle options.  
  
The area that had been spoken of in rumor and fear for months was now little more than a smoldering ruin. Even from this distance, the stench of burning flesh pierced even the normally blunt noses of the full blooded humans. And the strangest of the occurrences was the fact that, even though the attack had been over for months and every human inhabitant had apparently perished, the fires still burned the ashy wood of the structures.  
  
"Deckard Cain is being kept in the center of town." Elric said, drawing out a map in the crumbled, ruined black dirt. "Here's the blacksmith shop... or the remains of it, and here is what used to be the Inn of The Rising Sun."  
  
"If they are keeping guard on him, the best idea would be to strike into the center of town quickly and get out as soon as possible." Kassyera said, looking at the many entrances in the crude map and thinking of all the possible places for an ambush.  
  
"No, We should secure the entire area." Preen argued, "These are stupid beast of chaos and destruction. They will not post sentries. They will wait for an alarm and attack en masse."  
  
Elric thought for a minute while Natalie still looked over the map. "You're probably right about the alarm and attack, Preen. But don't underestimate how smart they can be."  
  
"Am I the only one wondering how you know this town so well?" Natalie asked, suspicious as to how Elric could possibly have this sort of information.  
  
"I spent a little time here. Not that it matters." Elric said curtly. "Don't forget that this is a rescue mission. Quickly in and quickly out would be the best idea. With any luck, the demons that attacked this place lost interest long ago and it'll be all but deserted."  
  
"I find it hard to believe that those monsters would leave a prisoner alive in a place like that." Preen shook his head, raising up ever so slightly to peer over the tumble-down half wall and take a glimpse of the wrecked township. "Then again, I also find it hard to believe that these beast would bother taking prisoners. What guarantee do we have that Deckard Cain is alive at all?"  
  
"None whatsoever." Natalie told the paladin. "But, if we have any hope of beating Andariel, then we have to believe that he is."  
  
"So, in other words, we may have just wasted the last three days trying to find someone that could already be dead?"  
  
"Well," Kassyera popped her neck, and looked down at the crude map again. "We better do something soon. We're sitting ducks here and I have no intention of being put on a menu for a bunch of stupid demons... No offence." She added offhandedly.  
  
"None taken." Elric answered back without thinking before he made his call and got everyone's attention. "Okay. Here's what we do. Break up into teams of two. Try to attract as little attention as possible." Elric started pairing them up.  
  
"Tozam and Durom, you guys head straight in from the North entrance and take out any guards or sentries demons you might find. Kass and Raid, go around and do the same on the south side. You should find cover in a tree grove and be able to pick off anything that tries to get into the city by the south side. The west wall of the city is against a river, so we shouldn't have to worry about it. But there is something...Cathim, take wonder boy over there and head up to the north-west, outside the town. Natalie: You're with me."  
  
"What?" Cathim was confused by this. "But... There's nothing north-west except a graveyard and a pile of rubble."  
  
"Trust me." Elric told the necromancer solemnly. "If the creature's that did all this are still in the area, they will come out of the North-west. Keep out of the graveyard and make for the portal if things get too hot."  
  
"And where will you be?" Kassyera asked.  
  
"Natalie and I will take the East entrance." Elric said. "Does everybody know what their supposed to do?"  
  
This warranted a pause.  
  
"Uhhhhhh...."  
  
"No, not really."  
  
"Maybe we should go over it again."  
  
"Oh... for the love of!" Elric had to control himself to keep from lashing out. "Just kill anything that gets in your way and get the hell out if things get really bad. Once we get out, head back for the portal.  
  
"I can do that." Tozam said happily.  
  
"Okay, guys." Natalie said, looking around at the unlikely crew. In all of her life, she never would have predicted that she might be trusting her life to such a strange group. "We only have one shot at this. If we find Deckard Cain alive somebody who knows magic needs to send up a sign and waste no time getting him back to the portal. Everyone understand?"  
  
"What do we do if he's already dead?" Cathim asked grimly, still wondering if there might be an empty pit in the graveyard to kick Preen into.  
  
"He's alive." Elric said confidently. "I know it."  
  
"Then what are we waiting for." Tozam got up from the uncomfortable crouching position and stretched out, towering over the others. "Lets do this. I wanna fight!"  
  
The rest of the party agreed, each wishing the others best of luck before they too stood and splintered off into each of their designated groups.  
  
As Preen and Cathim started away from Elric and Natalie, heading to the ominous debris in the North West, Elric's keen ears caught some of the paladin's words.  
  
"Why would Elric be offended?"  
---------------------------------  
  
"That didn't take long." Raid whispered to the assassin as each of them slinked from shadow to shadow, silent as death itself.  
  
Less than thirty minutes had passed since they had broken off from the others and already they had found proof that this place was, indeed, Tristram. An archaic ritual seemed to be in place, as dozens of small, red skinned Fallen Ones danced around a burning bit of refuge. Behind the circling tribe, a single, tall shaman sat, chin in hand, in a throne carved out of a tree stump.  
  
The only other thing that the two women warriors could make out was a small, motionless figure off to the side.  
  
"You don't think that might be Cain, do you?" Raid asked quietly before Kassyera hushed her with a finger.  
  
The sound of the creatures dancing and singing was a pain to the ear, like hearing dozens of ungraceful cows skidding on fine marble. Still, thinking that perhaps the assassin was more skilled in stealth, Raid kept quiet and resisted the urge to start firing into the easy to hit group of dancing fallen. Curiosity also consumed the Amazon as she watched Kassyera pull a small, cylindrical metal piece from her belt.  
----------------------------------  
  
"This is very strange." Durom paused for the umpteenth time, kneeling down and pulling up a bit of dirt. This time bringing some up to his face and sniffing it.  
  
Tozam, who had found a strange bond of fellowship with his druidic cousin, was now beginning to question the Druid's sanity.  
  
"Okay... what the hell is so strange. It's dirt! You know... that grimy stuff that everywhere whenever there's no water, mountain's, or sand. I swear, If we have to stop for another, 'that's strange, let me sniff the ground', moment, I am leaving your arse behind! I have been hunting for a good bit of my life, and I'll tell you that we are not going to find any distinct tracks in this slough."  
  
Durom stood up, once more taking his great spear in his hand. "It is not tracks which I seek, Cousin Tozam..." The druid answered cryptically, "But answers locked within the earth."  
  
"Rigghttt... Any chance the 'Earth' can tell me when I'll have to get married?"  
  
"Do not mock the sciences of the Druid's College." Durom warned before explaining. "I can tell from the soil that any animal's native to this world have long since fled, driven away as if by a great hoard of evil. I have no allies among the beast in this place."  
  
"This place was ransacked by monsters and you're looking to adopt another murder of crows or a wolf?" Tozam looked from side to side as they approached the ruins of the cities northern-most buildings.  
  
"More than that," Durom continued, looking about as well. "This land has been desecrated. Hell-Born evil thrives on such ground, making it stronger and slowly corrupting those mortals who remain in constant contact with it."  
  
"Wait! Are you saying that all the demons around here get a power boost just because they're standing on this dirt?!"  
  
"Yes." Durom answered. "Your colleague, Elric, should be most pleased."  
  
"Well, yeah. I guess he would be... WHA..." The reality of the Druid's words smacked Tozam in the face. "How did you know...?"  
  
"Know?" Durom shook his head, surprised that Tozam had really believed him to be so naive. "I had suspected since you spoke of him as if he were an animal. But I did not understand the full truth until I heard your skinny friend Cathim and Natalie speaking about him last night. It really made me question all of your goals."  
  
"Well... Elric can be kinda... strange... sometimes. But, really, he is a great guy."  
  
"His adopted sister certainly thinks highly of him. Which was the only reason why I did not attack him on sight."  
  
"Good thing too." Tozam tried to joke around, not noticing the massive figure watching them from the shadows. "Cause he would have torn your carrot-topped head off."  
  
"Still," Durom went on, "I would never guess by looking at him or speaking with him that he was a..."  
-----------------------------  
  
"HALF-WHAT!!!!" Preen couldn't believe what he was hearing.  
  
"You heard me, pally. I don't need to repeat myself do I?" Cathim kept walking, feeling a strong pull from the spirit world as he came closer to the rubble heap in the center of the Graveyard.  
  
"We have been following a MONSTER'S advice on how not to be killed by other monsters! Are you people MAD!?"  
  
"You know, I asked myself that same question when I first met him. Didn't trust him for a moment. Of course, when I met him, he was a long, black lizard-like creature with enormous claws and a bladed tail; spitting acid all over the ground."  
  
"If that 'thing' is half-demon, then what's the other half?" Preen asked, disgusted, though he already guessed the answer.  
  
"Chipmunk." Cathim answered coldly, drawing an estranged jump from the nauseated looking Paladin.  
  
"Gullible lot, aren't you. No... One of his parents were human. But according to Natalie, he never knew them."  
  
"And what does the sorceress know of this... this... 'Unholy Abomination'?" Preen asked.  
  
"That 'sorceress' would be the 'Unholy Abomination's' adopted sister." The necromancer said, his voice lacking anything close to emotion. The magic emanating from this place was strong. Powerful beyond anything that the Priest of Rathma had ever felt before. Talking... even to the stupid paladin, helped to calm his nerves.  
  
" 'Sister'?! What treachery is this?! What kind of mad fool would invite such evil into their home? If we were in Kurast...!"  
  
"They would have been put to death for consorting with the dark forces." Cathim went ahead.  
  
"DAMN RIGHT!" Preen exploded for a moment, rocking his head back to the point that his helmet slipped forward on his head.  
  
"And you people wonder why the Kingdom of Westmarch and every other society outside of the Travencal call your crusade against evil 'The Inquision of Blood'."  
  
"The forces of Darkness are NOT to be tampered with! And they are certainly not to be taken into a family's house LIKE A BLOODY STRAY DOG!"  
  
"And I'm sure that you would have been the first to march a five year old Natalie and her father and mother up to the guillotine."  
  
"I WOULD HAV...." Preen lost more than a bit of his wind. "I... I would...."  
  
"Not so easy when you think of the fact that she was just a kid when they let him in."  
  
"Her parents should have known better!"  
  
"Preen..." Cathim decided to take this next step delicately. "It is in the Code of the Paladin to help those in need, correct?"  
  
"Yes." Preen answered without hesitation.  
  
"And, if you found an orphaned child, hungry and shivering in the cold, what would you do?"  
  
"I don't know..." Preen started, "I'm a soldier, so I can't very well take the child in. I would perhaps try to find a generous home for him to stay for a few nights."  
  
"If that's the case..." Cathim stopped, now standing only a few feet from the rubble, tombstones all around. "Then a lowly peasant family overwhelmed the great and unbreakable Code of The Zakarum. Some protectors of Light."  
  
Preen was about to retaliate, but then stopped.  
  
He would have more time later to correct the horrifically short-sighted necromancer's views.  
  
"What is this place, anyways?" Preen asked, changing the subject.  
  
"I'm not sure..." Cathim looked about, trying to make sense of the area. "The pull of the spirits in this area is immense. There so much pain here... so much anger in the sleeping dead. My first thought would be that this place was a church by the arrangement of the graves. But..." Cathim stopped, suddenly realizing that there was something very, very wrong.  
  
"This place is unholy..." Preen said, feeling a chill in the air.  
  
"That is the understatement of a lifetime." Cathim told the paladin, realizing what he was feeling. "The spirits are restless. They crave battle." Suddenly, the necromancer turned about, his eyes wide.  
  
"They know we're here." He whispered fearfully.  
  
Before another word could be said, Preen felt an icy cold grip on his ankle.  
--------------------------------  
  
-FLASH-  
A lone figure walked past the eastern entrance to Tristram, his head covered by a deep, hooded holocaust cloak.  
The townspeople, terrified by the recent events surrounding the towering monastery and the disappearance of both The Black King Leoric and his son, the kindly Prince Albrecht.  
  
Fear shook the local people to their knees, persuading them to invite even the most horrific sort of mercenary into their town in hopes that they might do battle with the evil.  
  
"Well, what haves we here?" One of the scarred, ale-reeking mercenaries, reinforced by several followers, approached the young newcomer.  
  
'A man barely any better than the monsters that he has come to fight.' Elric had thought. But all he could say, in a restrained voice was:  
  
"Out of my way."  
  
"We don't need any mores here ta try and take on apiece of the glory, boy. This aren't a place for a farm-hand with a pig-sticker to come to prove something." The horrible scar running down this man's face added an annoying twitch to his cheeks as he talked. To Elric, he had seemed the kind that thought highly of his skill. Not to say that his ego was unfounded, but it was without doubt, out of hand.  
"You can go on back to yer dirt-eating family and leave the dreams of battle to the real warriors."  
  
Later, Elric would realize that he acted rashly. But, at this time, his family was the last thing that he would hear insulted.  
  
Before the mercenary could react, Elric shot out a hand and grabbed hold of the man's arm, crushing every bone in the scarred mercenary's forearm.  
  
The others stood back for a second in shock before they realized that their leader was shouting out in pain. But as that shock subsided, they attempted to attack, coming at Elric from all sides with bare hands.  
With his superior strength, even in human form, Elric managed to repel them all in a matter of moments, sending them sulking back on the road without ever letting go of their leader's crushed arm.  
  
"AGGGGHHHH!!! HEY! LET ME GO!" The man squirmed for a moment before catching a glimpse of the shining red eyes of his tormenter.  
  
"Wha... what the hell are you...?"  
  
Later, Elric would recall playing different scenarios though his mind. Ripping the guy's head off was the first and foremost, with others being as mild as simply taking an arm and gnawing on it for the next few days. Thankfully, reason won out in the end and Elric simply threw the injured warrior back to the side of the road.  
  
"Stay out of my way."  
  
-FLASH-  
  
Elric shook his head, trying to focus on the task at hand as he and Natalie sneaked though the familiar East Entrance and down the main road.  
  
"How do you know this place so well?" Natalie asked again for the third time since she and Elric had broken away from the rest of the group.  
  
"I told you: I spent a little time here." The young half-demon said quickly, moving as quietly as he could while staying close to the buildings that lined the town's main street.  
  
"When?" Natalie asked sarcastically. "I know that father never let you leave home before he died, and there would have only been one time that you could have come here after that."  
  
Elric sighed, wishing that his sorceress sister would stop worrying about these little details and focus on not attracting any attention.  
  
"I'm not a simpleton, Little brother." She said, moving up beside him.  
  
"Natalie. I never accused you of that."  
  
"You were here during the battles against Diablo, weren't you?"  
  
Elric stayed silent, trying instead listening to the faint voices that he heard coming from the center of town.  
  
"Why come here after Atisar?"  
  
"I had my reasons, Nat." Elric whispered, ducking off to the side and motioning for his sister to do the same. "Leave it at that."  
  
"Why did you..."  
  
Elric shushed her, reaching out, pulling the sorceress closer to him and slipping a hand over her mouth. Natalie struggled for a moment before she realized that Elric was trying to do. Staying still for a moment, she too heard the grainy, malevolent voices.  
  
Feeling that she had gotten the point, Elric let go.  
  
"What are they?" Natalie whispered, readying her spells and pulling her staff in front of her.  
  
"An old friend..." Elric hissed slightly.  
-----------------------------------------  
  
"Ohhhh boysss..." Raid cooed, stepping out from behind a small grove of trees. Swinging her legs up, deliberately and seductively with each step.  
  
This got the Fallen around the fire to stop dancing around and stare in awe at the beautiful, blond human in red leather armor that had fallen into their midst. The most surprised among them, it seemed, was the tall, stave wielding shaman, who stood up from his crudely designed wood throne.  
  
"I'm looking for the ugly one..." Raid shrugged and shook her head idiotically, "Oh, what am I saying... You're all ugly."  
  
"Prayers are been answered!" The shaman waved his arms dramatically, posing as though he had expected this unbelievably fortunate gift. "The wo-man flesh be your's!"  
  
That was all of the encouragement that the fallen warriors needed before they started rushing forward, consumed by the only lust in their minds that was more important that the need for battle.  
  
"Oh..." Raid said slowly and flatly, as though she did not have any problem that a small hoard of horned fallen were coming at her. "...What ever shall I do?"  
  
Thought the shaman could not hear her, he did wonder for a moment why the stupid human was not running. His answer came a few moments later as almost his entire tribe stopped at once, started convulsing wildly, and jet-black hair from every one of them shot up and stood on end.  
  
"Oh, Athulua, Forgive me, but I do love this 'technology'." Raid smiled, seeing how well the assassin's plan had worked and pulling her bow from her shoulder, notching and aiming faster than most men could follow. Allowing here intuition to have free reign, she let the arrow fly.  
  
The shaman, who was now preparing a fireball spell, heard a twang behind him and was confused when he turned around and found an arrow embedded n the wooden throne directly behind him. Hs confusion was only enhanced by the sudden wetness that dribbled down his horned forehead. Finally, the realization was made:  
  
"Me be shot..." The shaman fell over, dead before it hit the ground.  
  
Raid waited a moment, enjoying the show as the last of the Fallen warrior's that had come for her fell to the ground, overcome by a fried nervous system.  
  
"Well," Kassyera appeared seemingly out of nowhere, smiling as she nimbly tread though the Fallen One's corpses. Looking on the ground until she found the small metal tube that she was looking for. "That went better than planned."  
  
"What is that thing any way's, Kassy?"  
  
"Lightning Web." The assassin said shortly, reaching down though the gap in the web's energy and disarming the trap. "Very useful against crowds like that."  
  
"Okay. Enough chat. Do you think these guys got anything good on them?" Raid asked quickly, wondering weather or not it would be worth the trouble to dig though the stinking pile of bodies for treasure.  
  
"Don't you have a mission to be attending to?" Kassyera asked earnestly, nodding her head over to the figure that they had seen before.  
  
"Eh? Oh... Right." Raid seemed almost disappointed as she got up and sulked over to the body.  
  
It was smaller than she had thought before. And, turning it over, Raid realized that it could not possibly be the 'Town Elder' Cain.  
  
"Oh my lords..." Kass stood over the Amazon as the trained warrioress turned the boy over. "He's a baby."  
  
"A badly mutilated baby." Raid said, a strange mixture of sadness and stern uncaring in her voice.  
  
The kid couldn't have possibly been older than nine or so when he died, but both women made a safe bet that he had suffered for far more than those nine years were worth. Already missing a leg (obviously some time before his death) the youth was likely quite dashing and roguish before the monsters had proceeded to torture him.  
  
"Sad... Very sad." Raid said, shifting thought the boy's coat.  
  
"Raid! What are you doing?! Have you no respect for the dead."  
  
"Respect?" Raid pulled out several fat purses filled with coins, "At the moment, I have a lot of respect. This kid must've had at least five hundred gold pieces on him."  
  
Kass shook her head indignantly, wondering how she could have possibly gotten mixed up with these people. Looking away as the Amazon continued to loot the poor child with a gleeful vigor, the assassin noticed a small wooden peg on the ground. Upon picking it up, she realized that it was a wooden leg.  
Nodding her head in a quick prayer, Kass tucked the leg into her pack, more as a memento than anything else.  
--------------------------------------  
  
"Come with us..." The wraith-like, multitude of voices rang out above all other sounds as the restless dead clawed their way out from under the soft, defiled earth. "We will take you to oblivion..."  
  
A bolt of holy light blasted yet another of the hundreds of rising dead.  
  
"'Go to the northwest!' A wonderful suggestion from your brilliant leader! Too bad he was looking to get us killed!" Preen shouted as he and the necromancer stood back to back, each trying their best to keep the tide of undead at bay.  
  
"Blaming Elric isn't going to do anything about it right now! Besides, he said to stay out of the graveyard, if it makes you feel any better before you die: BLAME ME! " Cathim said blankly, having trouble concentrating on his dismissal spells. "We can't let them surround us. If they do, we die."  
  
"I get the picture, 'death priest'." Preen snapped, feeling drained as he lobbed another of his 'Holy Bolts' and positive energy into the growing crowd. "Any suggestions on how to do that would be greatly appreciated."  
  
"I'm used to summoning the undead, not repelling them. At the moment, I'm hoping you have a bloody miracle hidden away in that armor of yours."  
  
"I do not perform miracles..." Preen said, suddenly realizing what he must do and lowering the tip of his blade to the ground.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"I'm going to ask for one…"  
  
The paladin paid no more heed to the necromancer, instead focusing his thoughts and ideals into a single truth.  
As a paladin, he relied on his faith, now more than ever.  
  
"By the might of Ghrab Thaar..." Preen said lifting his chin and speaking to the heavens as the hoard of undead closed in upon them. "I call for the aid of the divine hammer!"  
  
"Any time now would be good!" Cathim said, casting one last unsummoning before he felt the last of his mana drain away to nothingness. Now, unless he was allowed time to grab for one of his mana potions, he had no defense.  
  
"HAIL AKARAT!!!" Preen called out in a vibrant, powerful voice as light suddenly exploded right above his head. Thought he would later wonder weather he was hallucinating or had seen a divine vision, Cathim could swear at that moment that he saw a hammer made from pure light swing out of the first burst. Spiraling around the paladin and over the heads of the undead. Many were either stunned or destroyed in less than an instant.  
  
"Okaayyyy..." Cathim looked around for a moment, wondering what force could possibly have knocked back so many undead zombies and skeletons at the same time.  
  
After half a second of wondering, he realized that he didn't care at the moment.  
  
"RUN!!!" Cathim shouted, grabbing the paladin's arm and making for the thinnest grouping of the stunned undead.  
  
"The power of the light has come to our aid..." Preen said in an almost trance-like voice as the necromancer pulled him along as quickly as he could run. "...We have nothing to fear."  
  
"Except a hoard of pissed off undead warriors who I would like to get away from as quickly as possible!" Cathim said, dragging the paladin out of the graveyard and back the way they came. "We have to get back to the portal!"  
  
"Those are the words of a coward." Preen said, becoming more and more aware of the situation with each passing step.  
  
"Think of it as a tactical retreat from certain and pointless death then!" Cathim snapped, letting go of the paladin and letting him run on his own.  
  
Preen looked back to the graveyard, seeing now that those who had only been stunned had quickly overcome the shock and were now chasing after them.  
  
"I can live with that..." Preen said, running after the necromancer.  
----------------------------  
  
Durom and Tozam ducked quickly ducked behind the half-tumbled wall of the Inn of the Rising Sun when they heard the three gravely voices coming from the center of the town.  
Keeping quiet and readying their weapons, the two large men listened closely, attempting to place the voices at certain locations.  
  
The language was unlike any that either the barbarian or the druid had ever heard before. However, the speaking voices were more than distinct enough to lend clues as to their position and stature.  
  
'Two big ones, one standing and one sitting on the right and a little beastie off to the left slightly.' Tozam thought, making eye contact with Durom and nodding, with both confirming what the other had heard.  
  
"Blitz?" Durom asked softly, leaning over to the barbarian.  
  
"Blitz." Tozam confirmed, already feeling the heat of impending battle flowing though his veins.  
  
"On three?"  
  
"On three."  
  
"One..."  
  
"Two..."  
  
"Dieee...humansss..."  
  
"No Durom. Three comes next." Tozam uttered an instant before realizing the horrible truth.  
  
Turning around, the two saw a small squad of black-furred goat men and a large, bleeding, disheveled human figure standing off to the side.  
  
They had been ambushed.  
  
"Oh, Hell..." Durom tightened his grip on his great spear. "Mayhaps today is a good day to die."  
-------------------------------------  
  
The world of men was cold.  
Far too cold for his liking.  
  
Sneering in discontent, the smith continued on, taking yet another boring step on this land that mortals hand named 'Stony Field'.  
  
He, "The Smith", who had apprenticed to the great Hephistus himself, now found himself isolated in this putrid, human country-side.  
  
Why had the mistress ordered HIM, the strongest of all her warriors, out on such a medial task.  
How he longed to stand before the Hell-Forge once more. How he yearned to bring down the mighty hammer of his true master, Hephistus, and forge another weapon of darkness or lust.  
  
Finally, after far too long a journey, the smith saw what he had been sent to find.  
A circle of stones with a blood red portal in the center.  
  
"Damned stones..." The Smith sneered again in his powerful, rocky voice, holding up his looted, human-made hammer as he looked down on this place. "You shall keep me from my forge NO LONGER!!"  
  
Sensing no danger from this place, The Smith rushed in and brought his malice down upon the closest stone, shattering it to bits.  
  
It certainly was not the mighty hammer of the Hell-Forge. But, for a mortal made piece of junk, it was efficient enough.  
  
Now The Smith took joy as he continued on his meaningless task of crushing the standing stones.  
  
After all, once he was done, he would go back to his nice... warm forge. He had only just completed a blade made from hardened female thigh bones before he had been commanded to come here. So The Smith bashed away at the stones, wondering what his next project would be.  
--------------------------------------------  
  
"THERE'S THE PORTAL!!" Cathim shouted out, severely winded with only pure will (and the desire to get away from the tireless hoard of skeletons) keeping his legs moving.  
  
Preen was not unused to such conditioning and was tempted several times to out pace the shoddy necromancer and leave him to the vial creatures that he sought to control.  
  
But, instead, he settled on gloating at the out of breath magic user as they came into sight of the blood red portal that would allow them to leave.  
  
"SO! RAISING THE DEAD IS NOT AN ACT OF EVIL IS IT? WELL, IT SURE AS HELL LOOKS EVIL RIGHT NOW!"  
  
"NOT NOW, PALADIN!"Cathim huffed, "WAIT TILL WE STOP!!"  
  
The two raced as though the very Hells were at their heels (which they really were) and quickly came up on the portal.  
  
Just in time to see it fizzle and pop out of existence.  
  
"That...is not good..." Cathim said obviously, grounding to a halt and coming to stand right where the portal had been a few moments ago.  
  
"That damnable creature wanted us dead..." Preen said, slowing but not stopping. "We must stand and fight! Valiant till the end!"  
  
"I prefer not to fight an impossible battle alone." Cathim huffed for half a second before dashing off southward.  
  
"Wha... HEY! YOU HAVE TO BEAR WITNESS TO MY LAST STAND!!" Preen called out behind the necromancer before running after him towards the township of Tristram.  
---------------------------  
  
"Ohhh... what this be, then. " Gharbad perked up slightly from his lethargy, his interest peaking for the first time in weeks.  
  
The sounds of battle, human shouting, and death cries of several of his 'Lesser' goat-men brethren flowed like music over the ruined and still burning remains of the pathetic human city.  
  
"Travelers mayhaps..." Gharbad though wickedly, fully confident that he might actually be able to have a little fun with this unexpected development. "...See shall we... Yes we shall. Hope they be many... many for all to enjoy."  
  
"Me lord..." The lackey 'fallen' creature that had been given to Gharbad as a gift to celebrate his prowess piped up, moving slightly closer to it's master and pointing to the gibbet swaying above their heads. " 'Ou wants me guard prisoner."  
  
"Nowhere will go the son of the Binder." Gharbad snickered sinisterly, turning his eyes to the northern street of town, towards the source of the battle. "Hue-mans come here, dare they...Punished they shall be. If be you 'sooo' worried that frail old 'hue-man' will escape, then stay here and guard him you must!"  
  
"But master..."  
  
"ARGUE DO YOU WITH ME, GRUB!?" Gharbad turned and snapped at the lowly fallen, who cringed at the sound of the goat-man's voice. "Me, who did battle with Black Death! ME, who survived the battle under the monastery!"  
  
"No...no master..." The fallen cringed at the mention of the fell creature that had defeated their lord in the labyrinth beneath the human city. "Master is great and wise power. He not killed by Black Death... He is mighty."  
  
"That you remember." Gharbad smirked. "Go you now and tell fools not to kill, no. To me bring hue-mans."  
  
"Aye master..." The fallen said shortly before Gharbad kicked the thing with a hoof, pushing it to get on with the task.  
  
So distracted was Gharbad, the Master of Tristram, that he did not notice either the human or the half-breed demon hiding just out of sight.  
---------------------------------  
  
"What language is that?" Natalie asked, "What were they saying Elric?" She turned back to her brother, jumping slightly when she realized that he was in the process of ripping though his false skin and reverting to his demonic form.  
  
"It's High Demonica." Elric answered, shaking his claws free from the confining human fingers. "That goat-man is their leader. He sent the fallen to tell the other goat-men not to kill the two humans that their fighting to the north of town.  
  
"Ewww, is it always so bloody when you do... wait! Two humans? Durom and Tozam?!" Natalie looked back to the center of town.  
  
"Don't worry. Gharbad wants them alive. We'll get them out." Elric completed his transformation, quivering a little when he went to all fours.  
  
"Elric?" Natalie noticed the cloth bandage which still held tight around his torso and back. "What's wrong? What happened for you to get that?"  
  
"Nothing, I'm alright..." Eric shook his head, trying to get the sore tenderness to go away. "I'll be okay. Right now we have more important things to worry about."  
  
"Right..." Natalie looked up to the gibbet that swayed over the heap of rubble and hole that was once the town's well. Inside, Natalie could just make out the curled figure within. "I can't tell from this angle. Can you tell if he's still alive?"  
  
"No. This entire village is rank with charred flesh and monster smells. I couldn't pick a orange out of an apple barrel right now."  
  
"Then there's only one thing to do." Natalie readied herself, taking her staff in hand, and was about to charge towards the single goat-man before Elric's claw caught her shoulder roughly.  
  
"Not yet!"  
  
"Ow!" Natalie pushed the claw away, surprised how, even by accident, they had managed to easily pierce her flesh. "But... We should strike now before others arrive."  
  
"And without Gharbad to hold them back, what keeps the other demons from killing Tozam and the druid before they raise the alarm?" Elric asked, "We don't attack. Not yet... Not until we have the greatest advantage. Wait for the opportune moment."  
  
"Wait for the opportune moment?" Natalie shook her head. "And just when will that be?"  
  
"You know it when you see it."  
---------------------------------------------------------  
  
"We fought valiantly. Slew three times our number of enemies and would have slain a dozen more had it not been for this abomination." Tozam grunted, struggling against the iron tight grip of the dark haired man that held both he and Durom up the back of the neck.  
  
The man was large for a southerner, likely able to trace the blood of the Barbarian Tribes somewhere in his family's past. But he was no longer truly a man. The grotesque twisting of his face and blank, cold eyes that stood within the sockets were those of the undead. Yet he retained strength that he was very likely able to conjure in life, along with an obvious dose of otherworldly enhancement.  
  
"Aye..." Durom smirked though the blood that dribbled over his lips, oblivious to the piercing pain left by a lucky strike from a now dead goat-man. "Had I the same choice as before, knowing that this would be my end. I would have found it a strange honor to fight alongside you, cousin."  
  
The strange procession: two captive humans, the four remaining of the ten goat-men that had attacked them, the cursed, undead man, and the strange little fallen creature that seemed to summon them all continued their march until finally coming to the center of the town.  
  
"Ahhh, these be they?" A particular, scarred goat-man stood alone next to a fire in the ruin of the town, it's horrendous lips curled back in a menacing grin.  
"Hue-mans come far alone... yes, they do... Many leagues to nearest stronghold it is, hmmm..."  
  
"Go to Hell, foul beast!" Tozam shouted out defiantly before the large abomination that held his neck tightened it's grip.  
  
"Clever, Tozam..." Durom said blankly, ready to face his death with pride.  
"I am certain that he doesn't hear that one every time he takes a prisoner."  
  
"Hue-mans shut scream-making holes!" The scarred one lashed out, striking Tozam with the back of his ridged, bony hand and nearly breaking his jaw.  
  
"I...I barely felt it..." Tozam grinned proudly, prompting another back-handed strike from the leader of these beast.  
  
"Not that I'm complaining, but why am I not being hit?" Durom asked, trying to understand the appeal that Tozam presented as a prisoner as opposed to himself.  
  
"This one more fun for torment." The goat-man explained.  
  
"Oh...Oh yeah..." The barbarian popped his jaw back into its place and shook off the pain. "I...I've had lady friends that left bigger bruises than that...That the best you got...?"  
  
The scarred goat-man answered him with a sadistic smile before reaching down and pulling a long, white-hot poker from the small bonfire next to him.  
  
"No, Hue-man... It was not..."  
----------------------------------------  
  
"One thing I gotta say for Gharbad..." Elric tilted his head to the side as he watched the display. "...He is doing much better as a monster this time around."  
  
"Elric..." Natalie watched in horror as Gharbad brandished the poker in front of Tozam, her knuckles turning white from gripping her staff so hard.  
  
"Really, last time I saw this guy, he was begging for his life and offered to make me an amulet if I would let him live. Piece of junk, it was a rip-off really."  
  
"It's going to kill Tozam!" Natalie very nearly lost all control there, still amazed by her brother's seeming indifference to the fact that Tozam was likely about to be horrendously tortured at worse or quickly killed at best.  
"We have to do something!"  
  
"Wait for it, Nat." Elric said coolly, still unmoved by the scene playing out in front of him.  
  
"What's wrong with you!?" Natalie looked in horror to the center of the town. "what in the Hells are you waiting for?!"  
  
"I have no idea..." Elric's eyes opened wider in shock.  
He was watching this event pass right in front of his eyes...  
  
And he was enjoying it?  
  
"Okay, lets go!" Elric tightened up the muscles in his legs, pulling back and ready to pounce into the center of the fray.  
  
"Pain is yurs, taste it you will..." Gharbad sneered in Tozam's face, holding the smoking metal point between them. "Duriel be yur lord now... Make introductions shall I."  
  
Just as Elric readied his customary battle-roar, something slightly different caught his attention.  
  
The faint, fast moving whistling of a single arrow cutting thought the still air.  
  
'Maybe we can wait for a few moments longer...' Elric thought as he watched Natalie pull herself over the half wall. ----------------------------------  
  
"Ugh..." Gharbad was more than a little surprised when he felt the familiar sensation of pain in his shoulder, forcing him to drop the white hot poker to the ground.  
  
"Most unpleasant..." Gharbad whined slightly, looking down to the arrowhead protruding from his shoulder.  
  
The next few moments seemed little more than a vague blur as everything seemed to happen at once.  
From behind the self proclaimed master of Tristram came a sudden hail of arrows, piercing the flesh and bone of more than a few of the gathered monsters. Most notably being the shaft now protruding from the head of the cursed human which, while not fatal, forced him to release it's grip on Tozam and Durom to remove the inconvenience. At almost the same moment, bolts of fire leapt from the side, catching those who had not been struck by the hail of arrows by surprise. Now, with every one of the goat men and the single fallen minion either dead, injured, or burned, the great master of Tristram made his authority known.  
  
"Uhhhh....ME YE MUST PROTECT!" Gharbad ordered the injured goat men and the cursed human as he turned about, seeing the amazon archer for the first time as she quickly fitted yet another arrow to the notch and let it fly. To his credit, Gharbad took the shot solidly and stood for a moment without as much as a flinch. Of course, he then sank to the ground n a quivering mass, but that was beside the point.  
  
With the two warriors now freed from their bond, they too entered, bare handed, into the melee. Trashing and pounding two of the surviving goat men senseless.  
  
"HELL YEAH!" Tozam shouted above the din and death cries of their enemies as a steady stream of arrows continued to flow into the small combat. In only a few moments, all of their enemies had fallen. All...Save one.  
  
Grunting and moaning n the wordless anguish that belonged to all undead, the cursed human swung around, completely unaware of the three arrows protruding from his head and chest.  
  
"Urrrggguurraaa..." The former blacksmith of Tristram bellowed unable to put together any sort of remark as he charged forward again following his orders to destroy any who were not his masters.  
  
"STAY DOWN DAMMT!" Raid called into the fray n frustration loosing another volley n the attempt to slay the dead man.  
  
The cursed Griswold ether did not understand her or did not care, because he did not even slow as he reached forward n an attempt to break Tozam's neck.  
  
A new blast of cy cold air, however, managed to slow t slightly, enough at least to allow Durom and Tozam a moment to get out of reach and start searching the corpses of their former captors.  
  
Enraged as he could be (and beginning to resemble a frozen pin cushion) the cursed Griswold turned about and ambled toward Natalie.  
  
"Gawds!!" Raid fired again and again,, growing more and more frustrated with each ignored arrow as the thing came closer to Natalie. "Die already!"  
  
"Help!" A weakened, raspy voice called down. "Get me out of here!"  
  
Taking a moment from her stream of constant arrows, Raid looked up to see an elder man in the cage. A chiseled look of wisdom and pain on his face with the gauntness of a skeleton apparent though his dull, faded blue robes.  
  
"Deckard Cain…" Raid was rocked by the discovery in the gibbet for a moment and forgot about the battle only a good sixty feet from her. " HOLD ON! I'LL GET YOU DOWN!" She said, quickly shouldering her bow and rushing to the base of the gibbet, looking to detach the locking mechanism.  
  
After all… how hard could it be?  
  
While she worked, the cursed man that was once Griswold the Blacksmith closed on the sorceress.  
  
"Uhhh…" Natalie stammered slightly as she continued to pump out bolt of fire and ice against the incoming adversary (With very little effect). "Little help here…"  
  
"BE WITH YOU IN A MINUTE!" Tozam called out, still rummaging though the corpses of the fallen goat men. "Damn it all! I know one of these guys has our weapons, but which one?"  
  
"How should I know... They all look alike to me." Durom searched another body a few feet away. "How many places could they be hiding swords and a great spear?  
  
"HURRY IT UP!!!" Natalie yelled out, feeling her mana stores draining away as she cast a last moment frozen armor and took up her staff n melee position. She didn't feel that she had any sort of chance against this resilient monstrosity, but there was little else that she could do as t bore down on her. The cursed man brought down a heavy arm, smashing against the upraised staff and easily shattering the dense wood.  
"Agguuhh!" The force shocked Natalie greatly, forcing her backwards more than two steps before she fell on her butt. Without hesitation, the cursed Griswold moved n on his immobilized prey.  
  
"Hold on, handsome!" The familiar, sultry voice of the assassin rang out from behind the man as she faded out from behind her cloak of shadows.  
"I don't think she's ready for that after one date." She said softly, almost cooing as she drove her three-bladed claw though Griswold's back, causing a strange gurgle from him and a turning motion as he readied himself to turn about and face the newest threat and push her roughly to the ground, forcing her to release and leave her claw weapon imbedded in his back.  
  
"Ow!" Kassyera was slightly stunned by this turn in events. To her fullest knowledge, most thing tended to either drop dead or writhe in pain when stabbed like that.  
  
Thankfully, before the creature could fully recover from her attack, Kassyera heard an primal, almost animal howl of joy.  
  
"FOUND THEM!!!" The barbarian lovingly pulled his two weapons from one of the corpses. "Hi babies… Daddy missed you… Did you miss Daddy?"  
  
"Tozam… Not the time." Durom reminded him, tugging his great spear out of the death grip of the foul beast-man that dared believe he could wield the Dreth'leth.  
  
"Right!" Tozam looked up to the druid with an insane twinkle in his eyes. "TIME FOR BLOODBATH!!!!!" Tozam shouted out, howling with the maniacal laughter of a mad man before charging from his position, leaping straight over Kassyera, and landing blade first into the large south-man.  
  
"KASSY!" Kassyera heard the unoriginal mutilation of her name. "OVER HERE! QUICK!"  
  
"Raid?" The assassin pulled herself away from the spectacle of the two battling giants to find the Amazon kneeling at the base of a gibbet. "What are you doing?"  
  
"You know about this mechanical stuff. Get him down!"  
  
"And quickly, if you don't mind!"  
  
"Who the hell…" Kassyera looked up to see the old man in the gibbet.  
  
"Deckard Cain, Son of…" He started.  
  
"INTRODUCTION LATER!" Raid shouted in frustration, seeing how Tozam was tiring in his pace. "GET HIM DOWN NOW!"  
  
Blow for parry, a bare handed blow for a badly timed and badly placed left hook. The two large men fought. One with all of the passion of his northern heritage. And the other with the fearless, ignorance of pain of all undead.  
Despite the wounds to each of them and the vast quantities of blood being lost by the cursed one, they were evenly matched, fighting each other to a climatic stalemate.  
  
Loving every moment of this new battle-high that he was in, Tozam looked up into the emotionless face of his opponent as his weapons pushed against man's bleeding arms in the deadlock.  
  
"You… Are… really…ugly…" The barbarian gritted though his teeth. "You're also… really stupid."  
  
"Urraagguuggg…"  
  
"Don't believe me?" Tozam grinned, "Try doing this…. Count to three."  
  
"Urg?"  
  
"One!" Durom, who had moved around to the cursed man's unprotected backside, took his liberty to plunge the head of his Dreth'leth into Griswold's hips, cleanly cutting though flesh and bone alike, to nearly chop him straight in half. So perfect and neat was the druid's strike that he managed to pull the blade straight out, leaving only a thin strip of flesh at each side to keep the two halves connected.  
  
Griswold pulled out of the deadlock , flailing his arms wildly to keep his torso from falling off of his lower half.  
  
"TWO!" Tozam moved quickly, skillfully bringing each of his blades down at perfect angles and slicing each of the overgrown zombie's arms off at the shoulder. Before they so much as hit the ground, the barbarian pulled back and then kicked viciously forward, tipping the cloven, unarmed creature off of it's legs and send the torso and head back onto the ground.  
  
"ICE BLAST!" Natalie, who had pulled back, drink a mana potion, and managed to recompose herself cast the mightiest Ice based spell that she knew at the head of the fallen undead warrior, freezing it solid and finally putting an end to the forsaken monster.  
  
"I was just getting to like that staff you brute!" The sorceress said shortly, walking up to the still twitching body and giving it a swift kick in her frustration .  
  
Winded and dripping with sweat from his exertion, Tozam looked up at the sorceress in mock disappointment. "Three… Why didn't you just say three… A perfectly good story to tell future listeners around a campfire. A great punch line to go with the story, and what do you say? Ice Blast?!"  
  
"A fitting end no less." Durom looked around, seeing that this battle was over for them.  
  
"Still, it would have been nice if I could one day tell the grand kids "One: He lost his legs. Two: he lost his arms. And Three…"  
  
An arrow rushed between the barbarian and sorceress, impaling the frozen head of the once again dead man. A moment later, following the sudden silence, the entire head exploded in a rain of icy shards.  
  
"Three! You got your story now, warrior." Raid said impatiently, shouldering her bow again. "Now, are you going to argue about pointless details or are you going to help us free the only hope we have?"  
  
"CAIN!?" Natalie rushed past the barbarian, "Deckard Cain? Are you alright?"  
  
"Get me out of this infernal thing and I'll be much better." The sage said grumpily. "Food and water would also be very nice, Zann Esu."  
  
Smiling, still amazed that they had found the great sage of Tristram alive, Natalie nodded. "Right! Sure thing!" The turned to the others. "Get whatever water and food you can spare out. Viz-Jaq'taar: Get him down."  
  
"I am trying sorceress…" Kassyera spoke through her teeth, her nimble and delicate hands pulling and plucking at the inside of the gibbet's mechanisms. "They have this damned thing booby-trapped, if Raid had pulled on the wrong cable before she got frustrated, she would have dropped this cage right down the well."  
  
"And judging from this view…" Raid looked down into the deep, darkness of the well. "It would not have been a pleasant fall."  
  
"The well now serves as a portal straight into an upper crust of Hell, but without the so-called 'Master of Tristram' to summon them, there's no threat. " Cain said, watching the five people milling below him. "You have no idea how good it feels to see fellow humans again."  
  
"I can get him down, but it'll take a few minutes." Kass said, going over all of the dimensions of the mechanism in her mind.  
  
"Well… We should be alright. The southern entrance into the town is cleared, so we have at least one way out." Raid said, looking about at the carnage that had been done in the last few minutes. "It's good to know that we can handle these kind of…" She then noticed something amiss.  
  
"Wait… Where's the scarred goat?" Raid asked, looking over the ground.  
  
Surprised, Natalie, Tozam, and Durom looked around the scattering of corpses for the strange talking, sadistic leader of the goat-men.  
  
He was nowhere to be found.  
  
"Hold on…" Natalie looked back to the half-wall that she had hidden behind before, realizing something else that was amiss.  
  
"Elric… Elric?!"  
  
He was nowhere to be found.  
  
"Little brother… You will be the death of me." Natalie sighed.  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
"Mortals… Meddlers…" Gharbad, the defeated Master of Tristram limped slightly with a muffled cry of agony as he pulled the damned arrow from his chest. Had he been a mortal, the simple flying stick would have slain him, having struck right where the heart was on a human. Fortunately, the great Gharbad did not have such limitations.  
  
"In their victory, they cheer… They believe they win. These mortals,.. What pitiful fools." Gharbad composed himself, moving northward.  
  
It had not been easy to use his dark powers to summon his own cloak of shadows and shield himself from the eyes of the humans. But now that he had escaped across the western river, he knew that he would have his vengeance. The mortals may have driven him away from the Hell-Portal under the Binder's gibbet, but they would not stand against the deadlier force from beneath he graveyard of the Fallen Citadel. Even though the Cursed King Leoric had been defeated under the catacombs of the Monastery, the memory of his presence still rallied the vengeful spirits of those who had died there in ages past and more recently before the Great Master fell.  
  
"Dead they shall be…" Gharbad coughed slightly, bile and blood filling his mouth. " Make them dead, shall I."  
  
Without warning, Gharbad's philosophical frame of mind was broken as a single small stone belted him in the back of the head.  
  
"GAGG! DARE WHO DOES!?" Gharbad turned about.  
  
"Hello, Gharbad." A young man, dressed in black and at least a few short years younger than those who had attacked him before, stood in front of a lone, dying tree, tossing a few small stones up and down in his hand. "It's been a while."  
  
"RRAAGGHHH!!" Infuriated and sensing an easy victim, Gharbad rushed forward, ready to rend the foolhardy mortal's flesh.  
  
Shaking his head, the young man easily sidestepped the scarred goat-man, letting him plow directly into the tree and fall unceremoniously to the ground.  
  
"Careful, trees can be very dangerous things, Gharbad. But, you know all about that after all. Kinda like those walls that you used to run into in the labyrinths."  
  
"HU-MAN DIE!" Gharbad lunged upward, bellowing as only the goat-men of Hell could as his clawed hand sought out the pathetic man's throat.  
  
This course of action proved very stupid as the young man reached up faster than Gharbad could react, took hold of his wrist, and proceeded to crush the bone, forcing the goat-man down on his furry, hindquarters.  
  
"GHHHAAAAAA-aaaaaa" The goat-man, former General of Hell and Former Master of Tristram cried out in pain.  
  
"How did it used to go? Gharbad The Weak: Weak body, Strong luck. Maker of Artifacts."  
  
Gharbad looked up to the human, pain replaced by a perplexed shine. No mortal knew these things. He was wise enough to understand that his name, Gharbad The Weak: Lowest of Diablo's Generals, The Lord of Terror's 'Luck Charm', was little more than a footnote in the musty tombs of even the wisest sages.  
  
"Who…You…Be…" Gharbad pulled against the iron tight grip.  
  
"I'm sure you remember, Gharbad." He said flatly. "I'm sure that you remember what I said back in the lower levels of the catacombs."  
  
"Seen you…I have never…" Gharbad tried to put more strength and less fear in his voice, but failed miserably at the attempt.  
  
"Really?" The boy smiled slyly. Then, most surprising thus far, spoke in the harsh, dark language of the Lords of Hell: High Demonica. "You do not recall begging for your life in the catacombs? You do not remember the pendent that you offered me in exchange for your life?"  
  
Listening to the harsh, hissing of his words and staring into the intense, impossibly bright green eyes, Gharbad understood.  
  
"Darbash Narcoal…"  
  
"That's right, Gharbad." Elric said switching to common for a moment. "And I also know you remember what I said would happen if our paths ever crossed again…"  
  
"Frrraneee…" Gharbad managed to sputter out past the sudden lump in his throat. " Mercy…"  
  
"That worked last time, Gharbad…" Elric said, his forked tongue flicking out from between his teeth. "This time… There will be no mercy for you."  
----------------------------------------------------  
  
"Elric?" Deckard Cain looked down at the young Zann Esu Sorceress from the cage that had held him for longer than he cared to remember. "Elric Tasslewind? You know him? He's here?"  
  
"You know my brother?" Natalie looked up to the elder man again.  
  
The others continued to keep watch as Kassyera worked to get the wheel mechanism unlocked, each turning at this or that noise, worried that a hoard of monsters might come barreling into the ruins of the town at any moment.  
  
"Brother?" Cain seemed both amused and confused by this little tidbit of information at the same time. Turning his head slightly to the side, and looking down, he shrugged. "My eyes may be failing me, but you do strike a bearing resemblance to the half-demon."  
  
"I thought so too…" Tozam looked up, having expected a snooty, pampered wizard rather than the old man with the sense of humor.  
  
"Okay… So you and the necromancer are not crazy." Raid said lightly, nervously looking about the east entrance. "Elric really 'IS' half-monster."  
  
"You knew?!" Natalie turned in shock to the amazon. "And you know!?" She turned back up to the sage. "Is there anybody here who 'DOESN'T know my brother is half-demon?"  
  
"Preen probably doesn't." Durom shook his head. "The boy wouldn't know the truth if it walked up and bit him in the face."  
  
"Anyone else in these lands? Anyone at all?"  
  
"No… If Kashya knows… then probably so does every trader and rogue in the area." Durom deduced.  
  
"Dear lords…" Kassyera wiped beads of sweat from her forehead as she continued on her attempt to unlock and discover the secrets of this device. "Whoever designed your cage was skilled beyond anything that I have ever seen before."  
  
"He was…" Cain said sadly, "What's left of him is laying over there with the head shattered."  
  
"Oh…" Raid looked up, "Sorry about that… it's just that…."  
  
"It's alright Amazon." Cain swallowed hard, leaning against the bars of the cage. "He died weeks ago."  
  
"Just another moment and I'll have you down, Master Cain." Kassyera said. "In the meantime, we should try to find that scarred goat-man. There's no telling what he could bring down on us if he gets away."  
  
"I wouldn't worry about him." A familiar voice rang from amidst the ruins of The Inn of the Rising Sun. As Elric walked out from the half burned doorway. "He'll find it very, very difficult to do anything anymore."  
  
"ELRIC!" Natalie ran up to the half-demon and threw her arms around him. "Stop disappearing like that!"  
  
"WAARRKKK!!!!" Elric couldn't keep in the pain as his sister hugged him tightly. "Pain-pain-pain-pain-pain-pain… NAT! LETTGO!"  
  
"Oh… Sorry, I forgot." Natalie let go of him, backing away slowly when she noticed that the red-tint had returned to his eyes.  
  
"Funny… It's like no monster can touch you…" Kassyera said, tightly wrapping two tiny cables together in hopes of activating the wench without setting off any of the sixteen traps that she had found on the gibbet. "Now all you have to do is watch out for your friends, they seem to be doing all the damage."  
  
"Kass… don't make me regret bringing you along for this…"  
  
"I GOT IT!" Kassyera shouted out triumphantly, reaching up and turning one of the two wenches. First the horizontal one to bring the cage over solid ground, then the vertical to bring it down, out of the air.  
  
"Good." Cain said, rushing as fast as his bones would allow him toward the door. "Now, two things… First: Someone let me have some water please. And second: You have to unlock the door."  
  
"Ha, after that…" Kassyera got up, "Opening a little lock will be a slice of pie. No lock has been created that an assassin can not pick."  
  
"Good." Elric said bluntly, struggling against the bandage that still held to his back. "Now we just have to send up a signal so that Cathim and the Paladin know we've found…."  
  
"I don't think that will be necessary." Durom observed.  
  
"Why not?" Natalie asked while Kassyera began her work on the lock.  
  
"Their coming this way right now." The druid said, looking out over the hills to the north of them. "And they seem to be in a bit of a hurry."  
  
"What?" Curious by this strange occurrence, Elric followed Durom's line of sight and was very much amazed by the fact that Preen and Cathim were running side by side. Even from their distance, Elric and the others could tell that both men seemed on the verge of exhaustion. "What in Nine Hells are they…"  
  
None of them… Not even Elric, who had seen the horrors beneath this damned place… were unaffected by the sight that overtook them now. Each one stunned into silence and wide-eyed as they watched an unfathomable multitude of the undead charged over the hill. Skeletons, zombies, and wraiths of all imaginable kinds covered every inch of the ground as they swarmed about, barely thirty feet behind the fleeing priests of death and the light.  
The silence lasted for only a few moments before someone thought it necessary to state the obvious.  
  
"We are going to die…" Raid said, holding her notched bow ready as though it would offer any sort of protection against their coming doom.  
  
"Any thoughts Elric?" Tozam also watched helplessly. He and Durom both were already exhausted from their five minute old conflict with the goat-men and might be able for another such battle. 'But against such overwhelming numbers…' Tozam thought, 'even if we were all of the North, there would be no chance.'  
  
"I have one…" Natalie said, pushing past her brother and the druid. "I hope that Cat and Preen are resourceful enough to make it though…"  
------------------------------------------  
  
"Keep breathing… That's the way… Breath…" Cathim reminded himself, all but blinded by sweat as he pulled yet another of the many stamina potions he kept at his belt for emergencies. If this didn't qualify, he honestly didn't know what did.  
  
"THERE'S THE TOWN!" Preen shouted in triumph, making it sound as if they might find sanctuary. "THE OTHER'S WILL BE THERE!"  
  
"OR DEAD!" Cathim shot back, forcing his failing body to keep his legs pumping as he quickly chugged yet another stamina potion and threw the empty vial behind him, feeling an immediate surge of energy.  
  
"IF THEY ARE DEAD…" Preen shouted over his own labored breath. Despite his powerful aura of 'Vigor', Preen had none of the energy giving potions that the necromancer keep in easy reach and was feeling every step draining him of his strength. " ...THEN WHO IS RAISING THAT WALL OF FLAME!!??"  
  
"Natalie…" Cathim kept running, despite the stitch that had developed in his side, and tried to focus his energies now on a defense of his own. The Fire Wall would likely keep the undead at bay, if only for a while, however, he knew that he would need his own protection to get himself though.  
  
Preen was already deep in prayer, running his devotion deep in his silent words of piety and strength.  
  
Feeling that the paladin relied far too much on faith, Cathim instead placed his life in something far more…corporeal, summoning around him a spirits and strength of the bone.  
  
Five feet from the flame, each champion of his own faith abandoned their lives to their respective magics, diving though the fires and hoping to come out the other side uncooked.  
  
"I…I can't hold it for long…" Natalie strained under the force of keeping the living flame alive, dropping to her knees as Cathim and Preen came running out of the two five-foot thick walls of fire.  
  
"Thin yours out…." Elric was also feeling the strain of holding his own wall of flames in place. He was by no means as skilled at manipulating fire as his sister… but an extra line of less intense flames was still a better deterrent than air. "We have to hold it…"  
  
Both Preen and Cathim, slightly singed, but otherwise no worse for the wear, fell in exhaustion into the arms of Tozam and Raid.  
  
"I gotcha buddy…" Tozam said, easily heaving the necromancer upright. "Don't worry, you're safe."  
  
"Preen, if you don't get your face out of my breast, you'll be dead before the un-dead breach the center of this city." Raid blushed slightly in indignation, still holding the paladin up under his arms.  
  
Durom, who had moved over to the eastern road, looked down the roadway, saying what must have certainly occurred to the others.  
"Even if the north way is blocked, they will come in from the east and south, it's only a matter of time!"  
  
"Kassyera…" Elric gritted though his teeth, hissing slightly as he did so. "Work… Fassstterr.."  
  
"Patience is a virtue…" Kass replied in a sing-song voice, hoping to let out some tension.  
  
She failed miserably.  
  
"NOT RIGHT NOW IT ISN'T!" Tozam scorned, still trying to help Cathim regain himself.  
  
"We have to hold them off until Kass gets Cain out!" Natalie shouted, gritting her teeth as she felt her mana draining. She was nearly spent, and if she dropped the spell even for a moment to get at one of the mana potions in her pouch, the fire would disperse. And she very much doubted that it would be a great feat for the undead to march though Elric's thinner, less powerful flames.  
  
Nodding in understanding, Durom turned about. "I'll hold the east opening." The Druid said shortly, knowing that, in their current deadlock, nobody would question him.  
  
"Raid! Elric called out, summoning all of his magical reserves and feeling almost empty as he held his medial flames in place. "Watch the south… When Cain is free, you, Tozam, and Kass go that way and try to go around the skeletons! Get him to the portal!"  
  
"No…" Cathim, forced himself to speak despite his complete lack of breath. "It's gone… The portal vanished…."  
  
"We've been betrayed…" Preen, catching his breath, had managed to get completely to his feet with Raid's help. "That… That Monster… He set us all up."  
  
"PLACE BLAME LATER, DOG!" Elric's eyes shot to bright red, a rush of anger giving a much needed boost of energy.  
  
"THIS WAS ALL YOUR DOING, DEMONSPAWN!" Preen shouted in his own, self-justified fury. "YOU LED US TO THIS HELL-HOLE! WHAT WAS THE PROMISED PRICE FOR A WARRIOR OF LIGHT? A CHANCE TO BE ANDARIEL'S LAPDOG…" Raid had heard enough and dropped the paladin to the ground in a heap while Tozam helped the necromancer down his last stamina potion.  
  
"Raid… what…"  
  
"SHUT UP PREEN! THINGS ARE BAD ENOUGH WITHOUT YOUR RIGHTIOUS EGO GETTING INVOLVED!" Raid shouted in frustration, leaving the paladin to recuperate on his own in order to help Durom.  
  
With help from Tozam, Cathim managed to get up to his feet, and limped as fast as he could to stand behind the brother and sister holding the barrier against the numerous undead.  
  
"WATCH THE EAST OPENING!" Deckard Cain shouted out, pointing though the bars of his cage toward Durom, who seemed to be sleeping on his feet.  
  
"Durom…?" Raid started questioningly, raising her bow and noting the small, but growing numbers of undead that seemed to have figured out that they could come around the sides of several buildings and come to the town center. "Whatever you're doing… you better start doing it."  
  
Much to her surprise, while Elric and Natalie were fighting to stay conscious and the necromancer seemed to be starting a spell of his own, Raid heard the druid… singing.  
The language was unknown to her, but the melody was surprisingly soft, almost soothing in nature.  
  
And it's effect became apparent almost immediately as the short song was finished. For the moment that the final note was sung and the druid became quiet again, the very earth seemed to move before him, breaking away and opening up into an infinite chasm, growing foot by foot until it finally stopped. Now, a simple scar in the ground, a quickly made gorge, stood between them and obliteration.  
  
Unfortunately, Durom collapsed the moment his work was finished, leaving the Amazon to pull him away from the edge of his chasm and back to safety.  
  
Muttering the last variants of his own incantation, Cathim held off on the final casting for a moment, attempting to gauge just how badly drained the sorceress and half-demon truly were. Realizing from a glance that either or both of them could fall victim to exhaustion at any moment, the necromancer slipped his will once more into the great beyond and called out to all spirits that would hear.  
  
"Rise at bidding….rise to fall… Guard from ruin….Bones and Walls!" Cathim chanted out, directing all willing spirits to come to his aid, solidifying and manifesting themselves as stone hard bones, locked together and as intricately laced as the finest quilt, rising more than twenty feet over the companion's heads and dwarfing the ten foot high walls of flame.  
  
Relieved, Elric and Natalie dropped their will on retaining the firewalls almost immediately, collapsing into each other and allowing the undead ten more feet worth of ground before running bone-made structure.  
  
"That… is truly a wonder, Catty…" Tozam smiled in appreciation as he supported the tired necromancer. "Will that hold them?"  
  
This wall, however, did not bite or snap at the flesh or bones of the undead, and thus they set upon it with all of their fury, pounding at it in a loud, random lust for destruction.  
  
"No." Cathim replied flatly, leaning heavily on Tozam and now feeling as exhausted as Elric and Natalie, or even more so.  
  
"DAMMIT ALL!" Kassyera's shout came from the side, drawing the barbarian's attention and letting him set the necromancer down to rest on the ground.  
  
"What's wrong?" Tozam asked the assassin, jogging up to see what was taking so long.  
  
"I've been trying to tell her…" Deckard Cain pushed up against the door to the gibbet, still in surprisingly good health for a man who had spent almost two months in that cage. "This lock was crafted by Griswold and infused with a fair amount of magic. She won't be able to pick it in time."  
  
"I've never met my match…" Kassyera assured them, ignoring Tozam's unbelieving eyes.  
  
"Oh, for the love of the gods…" The barbarian pushed the dark haired woman aside, sending her sprawling over the ground.  
  
"Wha… HEY!" Kassyera protested. "NOW I'LL HAVE TO START ALL OVER AGAIN!"  
  
"NO TIME!" Tozam shouted above the growing din of the frenzied undead pounding on the Bone-Wall. Then, taking hold of two of the bars, he pulled, heaving against them with all of his might.  
  
"He's right…" Cain said, doubt apparent in his voice. "All of your spell casters have all but exhausted themselves by using their mightiest spells to ward off the undead. Once they come around to the south road, there will be no one to stop them."  
  
"AANNNDDDD…." Tozam grunted, straining his muscles to the point of no-returned as every vein and cord in his tight, trained body became apparent. Finally, with the sound of twisting metal and one final grunt, the mighty barbarian wrested the hinges straight off the door and pulled the entire door: Frame, bars, and all, clean off of the gibbet.  
"We don't have time to waste being neat…" The warrior panted, now feeling out of breath from his own physical exertions.  
  
"Good…" Cain said, standing up straight for moment before nearly falling over with Kassyera breaking his fall. "…Now help me. I'm old, I'm hungry, and I haven't been out of that damn cage for weeks."  
  
"Well, glad to have set you free, old man…" Raid said, pulling Durom's unconscious body back towards them. "Now what…"  
  
Almost as if on cue, a single skeletal arm broke though Cathim's bone wall and, at the same time, Kassyera could see fast moving, cunning skeletons coming in from the southern entrance into Tristram.  
  
"My vote still says we are going to die." Preen, who had finally recovered by this time, managed to get himself to his feet, pulling his long holstered scepter from it's place. "Now at least, I have more plausible witnesses to my final stand."  
  
"Get the others…" Cain said weakly, reaching into the arm of his dull, faded blue robe. "I have only just gotten free from that infernal cage. And I, for one, don't plan to die until after I've had something to eat."  
  
Seeing nothing better to do than to listen to the old (and supposedly wise) man, Tozam sprinted back to the bone wall, heaving Elric and Cathim up on his shoulders without a problem. Elric, he realized, seem to be bleeding both from the mouth and though a wound that he has somehow gotten on his back.  
  
"PREEN!" Tozam called back, realizing that even he couldn't carry all three magic users at once. "Come get Natalie!"  
  
"I shall die with honor." Preen uttered to himself, deaf to those around him and ready to charge into the growing legion coming from the south with all of the zeal a mortal could muster. "For the light and glory of the Zakarum."  
  
"PREEN!" Raid leapt to her feet, leaving Durom long enough to reach over, wrest the scepter from the overly righteous paladin's grip, and conk him over the head with it.  
  
"Agh!" The defender of the word looked over to the fiery, scolding face of his Amazonian companion.  
  
"YOU GET HER! OR I KILL YOU MYSELF! NO HONOR! NO GLORY!!! GOT IT!"  
  
"An innocent life is in danger!" Kassyera thought of another way to get though to the thick headed paladin. "Will you stand by and do nothing?" This seemed motivation enough. For Preen rushed forward, past the returning barbarian, and scooped up the unconscious sorceress, fleeing with her in his arms at almost the exact moment that the necromancer's wall of bones shattered with a dreaded 'Crack'. Now, with no more obstacles in their way, the hoard of undead pressed though the northern entrance to the center of Tristram, ready and eager for blood.  
  
"Stay close now…" Cain whispered quietly as, from the sleeve of his cloak, the sage produced a single scroll tied with a red thread. "Where did you come from? What Stronghold?"  
  
"The Rouge Encampment, on the Blood Moor. I hope that's what I think it is…" Raid's eyes opened hopefully as she pulled the still groggy druid up so that she could carry him better.  
  
"Open now… to safety take us…." The Elder Cain chanted, pulling the thread from the scroll, rolling it open, and tossing it on the ground in one fluid motion.  
  
"TOWN PORTAL!" The old man shouted with all that was left of his strength before falling completely onto Kassyera, depending on her almost entirely now for support.  
  
At his words, the scroll burst into blue flames, which expanded outward until forming the now familiar blue pool of standing water.  
  
"GO! NOW!" Tozam shouted out, staying in the back of the group and facing the incoming hoard of undead as his companions threw themselves quickly though the unexpected portal. Kassyera supporting Deckard Cain first, followed by Raid limping along with the limp form of Durom.  
  
Preen followed next, cradling Natalie in his arms like a groom carrying his bride. "Leave the monster, Friend Tozam!" Preen called out before stepping though the portal, " It has already tried to kill us all once! It will not hesitate to do so again!"  
  
In the split second between the time that Preen stepped though the portal and Tozam followed after him with the undead only inches away from striking range, the barbarian considered the paladin's proposal.  
  
'Had' Elric truly brought them to this place to die?  
He 'had' sent Cathim and the Paladin whom he despised to the cemetery where they had been found by this army of death.  
It 'had' been Elric's plan to split up as they did, allowing himself and Durom to be capture and nearly tortured had it not been for the rescue preformed by Raid and Natalie.  
Where had Elric been then, when he had needed the half-demon's strength the most?  
All of his life, Tozam had been raised on stories and legends of the wily demons who seduced man-kind and played such treacherous tricks. He had been taught from birth that such beings from outside the realm of men were not to be trusted.  
  
In one arm, Tozam held Cathim: A user of dark magic. One whose faith was constantly challenged by those around him because they believed him to be a practitioner of the evil arts. Yet, as different as they were, they had traveled far together all the way from his great home city of Harrogath, evolving a strange, impractical bond.  
  
In the other arm, Tozam held Elric. A half-demon. In essence, everything that his people of the Northland had been preparing to battle for centuries.  
In this time of monsters and evils… could such a creature 'BE' a friend to humanity?  
  
In that split second, Tozam of Harrogath made his decision.  
  
Tightening his grip around each of them, He dashed though the portal with one thought racing though his mind as he narrowly avoided the icy claws of the undead.  
  
"What have we got to lose but our lives…?"

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Post: Two months overdue.  
  
Robin: (Wakes up in a hospital bed) Uhhhhh…. What happened…. (Looks around at all the angry faces) Huh… What? My fans… What happened?  
(Fans close in with needles, guns, and various other weapons) Guys? GUYS!? AAAAGHGGGGGHHHHH!!!! NOOOOOO!!!!!! PPAAAAIIINNN!!!!! AAAAAAAGGGGGUUUHHHH!!!! THAT DOESN'T GO THERE!!!! AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!  
-------------------------------------  
  
On a serious note: THIS FIC IS NOT DEAD!  
Sorry about the delay everybody, things…. Got a little out of hand around here. I would go into detail, but I want to post this A.S.A.P and I get the feeling that you wouldn't forgive me even if I did explain. On an up-note, I have also uploaded the first couple of chapters for my new X-Men: Evolution Fan-Fic which will officially go online at the moment that I have finished uploading this chapter on  
On a sadder note, My D&D fic has been pulled due to a fine-print rules violation. Sorry for those of you who were interested in it. But a warning to me not to post anymore 'Script-formatted' fics.  
  
Being back into the swing of things, expect updates weekly again, aiming for publishing on Thursday nights/ Friday mornings with the X-Men Fic being updated randomly until the flow gets going.  
  
Now… Back to my severe beating.  
-----------------------------  
AAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!! GGGGHHHAAAAAHHHAAAAAA!!!!! NOOOOOOO!!!!! NO MORE CLOWNZ!!!! AAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!!!  
  
More R&R… more R&R!!!! (Foams at mouth) You will write a review… I Command you!!!!!! (Thinks for a moment…) hold on… I don't have mental powers…. Oh well, every little bit helps. You will write a review… I Command you!!!!!!  
  
Signing off (and hopefully never this tardy again) :- Robin  
  
P.S: Solarious... I have a restraining order for both you, and your clownz... Challenge me at your own risk ;p


	14. Chapter 13: Council of the Horadrim

Diablo II: The Epic Behind the Game Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo II, I, or anything else that blizzard created. In fact, some of my dialogue comes directly from the game, for accuracy purposes only. The Characters however are of my own design, directly from my chars on Battle. Net  
  
Seeing as how I am so freaking late with this post, I won't try to explain myself until the end of the chapter. Enjoy.  
  
Rogue Encampment:  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"How long has it been?" Kashya asked, pacing around the flat, strangely cut stone while keeping it surrounded with no less than a dozen of her best archers.  
  
"About two minutes since you last asked, Battle-Eagle." Akara replied, still involuntarily counting her prayer beads. "Are all of these guards completely necessary?"  
  
"Flavie?" Kashya turn her question over to her captain of the guard, rubbing her head as if it would relieve her pounding migraine.  
  
"Two hours, Battle-Eagle." Flavie told her superior.  
  
"How long could it possibly take to stroll though Hell?" Kashya asked herself, still trying to figure out how she could have let this dangerous stone become centered right in the middle of her encampment. "We have a defense to keep up, High Priestess. How much longer must we watch this place?"  
  
"Do not bury them yet, Kashya." Akara shook her head, beginning to grow frustrated with the Battle-Eagle's impatience. "If we are to ever return to our monastery, we can only hope that the sorceress and her party bring Deckard Cain here alive."  
  
"One man will not turn the tides of this war, High Priestess!" Kashya shouted impatiently. "We'd require an army of saviors to retake the monastery, each one armed with steel and magic."  
  
"You are young, Kashya." Akara said flatly, her eyes still closed as her fingers still ran over the prayer beads without thought. "A bit of aged wisdom, my dear child: A wise man is worth two armies of elite solders."  
  
"Well, that is very poetic High Priestess. But I fail to see the point..."  
  
"BATTLE-EAGLE!"  
  
The battle-eagle was cut off as the sudden spar of blue fire ignited over the Waystone, growing and solidifying almost instantly while she turned around.  
  
"ARCHERS READY!" Kashya called out, ready to give the firing order in an instant.  
  
Her surprise was great indeed when a disheveled, dark haired woman that she had never seen before appeared before her, carrying an elderly man thought the portal.  
  
"Who in the name of..." Kashya started.  
  
"Okay... this isn't the first time that I've had this sort of welcoming committee but could it wait?" The Assassin started, stopping for a moment and shifting the sage's arm to better support him.  
  
"PUT THE DAMN BOWS DOWN AND HELP!" Raid shouted, coming though the portal and pushing the burdened assassin forward, seeing the arrows immediately while she dragged the druid. "WE HAVE HURT PEOPLE AND A BUNCHA DEAD GUYS COMING IN!"  
  
Tensing slightly while the paladin jumped though the portal, the sorceress Natthilea in his arms, the eyes of every guard darted for a moment towards the Battle-Eagle, awaiting the order.  
  
Having expected a hoard of monsters to come slipping though this strange Way Portal since the beginning, Kashya hesitated for a second before finally giving her order.  
  
"STAND DOWN!" The Battle-Eagle barked, pushing past her sisters in arms and rushing to the old man's aid. She knew that, even if the dead were to come though the gate, it would take more than arrows to stop them.  
The several of the other sisters followed suit, rushing to help the battle wary and exhausted magic users.  
  
"BANZAIII!!!" The largest of the group, the barbarian warrior called Tozam, dove though the blue fire last, holding a companion under each arm.  
At least till his feet were firmly on the ground again, then he just dropped them like two lifeless sacks of potatoes before turning about to face the portal.  
  
"BRING YOUR PRETTY BONES TO MY FIST!!" The barbarian shouted out as a skeletal arm reached though the glowing, pulsing gateway. Without hesitation, Tozam grabbed hold of the arm and pulled it sharply to the side, severing it at the edge of portal and likely throwing the owner of the arm to the ground. Even as he did this, Two skeletal warriors bore past the barbarian, obviously making a rush for the portal though which their prey had fled.  
  
"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Tozam threw himself sideways, grabbing the one farther though the gate and throwing the bag of bones into it's companion, with the force carrying it though the portal.  
  
"ELDER CAIN!" Kassyera shook the sage wildly while Kashya held him up, trying to force the old man awake. "YOU HAVE TO CLOSE IT! YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS HOW!"  
  
"Dammit all..." Cain sputtered for a minute, obviously still fighting to keep his grip on where he was.  
  
"CLOSE THE DAMN THING! NOW!!!!" Tozam called out, now reduced to pushing back skulls and half mutilated heads as he saw them coming, forcing himself wide open for attacks from the many skeletal claws pushing their way though.  
  
"Activation...Termination.... Oh, what was it?" Cain stumbled over himself, obviously straining his already fatigued mind and body to keep himself focused.  
  
"ANY DAY NOW WOULD BE GOOD!!!"  
  
"The way is shut...." Cain started again, using his last ounce of strength to gesture towards the portal. "...The door...is...gone!"  
  
At his words, Tozam jumped back while the blue, glowing portal collapsed on itself, severing several frontal parts of skulls and leaving behind many lifeless skeletal arms on the ground of the Rogue Encampment.  
  
His work finished, Tozam too slumped to the ground, his wounds from the short torture session with Gharbad finally catching up with him.  
  
"Ummmm... We're back..." He managed, before collapsing entirely between the two limp forms of Cathim and Elric.  
  
This warranted pause for a moment before the high priestess of the Sightless Eye put things into order.  
  
"Help them up!" She started weaving in and out from the now moving archers as they rushed to obey the High Priestesses commands. "Bring food and water! Bandages for her shoulder!" Akara looked from one to the other, pausing for a moment when she came to Natalie and smiling when the sorceresses tired eyes opened slightly.  
  
"You've done it, Natthilea Tasslewind!" The high priestess said kindly, a momentary glance going over to Deckard Cain. "You have brought back a powerful and wise man from the depths of all of this horror. You have my thanks, young sorceress, and may yet restore my faith in humanity."  
  
"It was nothing, really, High Priestess." Preen chimed in, several bruises on his shoulder getting immediate attention by one of the bow carrying rogues. "The forces of good were triumphant today, that is all." The paladin forced himself to his feet now, trying his best to ward away the well intending rogue.  
  
"Indeed…" Akara only nodded n the paladin's direction before turning back to giving her orders. "Get them to my tent to rest! The rest of you to your post!"  
  
The moving started with rogues helping the few standing adventurers to get their companions to their feet. Taking three of them to pull up the Barbarian while one was more than able to pick up and carry the necromancer in her arms.  
  
Cathim, forcing off his mana exhaustion for a moment, looked up into the face of the young rogue.  
  
"I'll be damned…" the necromancer thought outloud, "So there s a piece of heaven for mortals…. And they let me in…" Cathim smiled. "I can't wait to rub it in Preen's face."  
  
"Oh, lades, lades." Tozam was nearly as delusional, "Not tonight… I have a massive headache…and the side of my face hurts like hell."  
  
It was not long before the group was being either escorted or carried away to the more restful confines of the High Priestess.  
  
Well, almost of them.  
  
Unsurprisingly missed in the rogue's attempt to make the others more comfortable while being eased away, Elric laid very still on the ground, still unmoving and seemingly unconscious as a shadow passed over him.  
  
Having avoided the rogues (Who obviously didn't want anything to do with the half-breed), Preen had managed to slip by in the chaos to now stand over the abomination, seething in his own, self-justified, righteous fury.  
  
How could he have been so blind, Preen thought. He had felt from the beginning that there was something amiss about this seemingly innocent 'boy'. He should have realized the dark glare in his eyes the moment that they had first shook hands in the tavern. He had felt something, but had foolishly dismissed it as mere imagination. Now, he had seen for himself what sort of creature he and Raid had fallen into consorting with.  
  
How many innocent people had fallen victim to this snake in men's clothes?  
How many had died at it's claws?  
  
Cathim had described Elric before as a lizard-like beast. Now, Preen could imagine the smug Elric no other way. Always pulling away from the group like he did… likely consorting with the very monsters that they had later faced. Attempting to kill them all while in the guise of a friend. Had it not been for the amazing wit and foresight of the sage, Deckard Cain, they would have all been overrun by the foul undead, the hated servants of Mephesto. And this beast would have likely finished his task, earning a place alongside the equally foul Maiden of Anguish in the ill-fated monastery as it became a permanent outpost of Hell in the mortal realm.  
  
"No more blood shall be spilled on account of this dark beast…" Preen vowed, reaching for the blade at his side and loosing it from it's scabbard. "And for the honor of all who have gone before me…"  
  
Preen raised the blade up in a warrior's salute to his fallen comrades in arms, those who had fallen before their time at the whims of the monster on the Blood Moor. Then, turning the blade downward, prepared for a final, devastating thrust.  
"DIE WELL!" The paladin thrust the blade down .  
  
"NO!" Much to his surprised, a small, yet strong, pair of hands managed to grab hold of his wrist, halting the killing move instantly as the dark haired assassin pushed against the indignant fury of the paladin.  
  
"I won't let you hurt him!" Kassyera strained defiantly, forcing the slightly larger warrior's hands (which were still gripped tightly to the downward pointing sword) up between their faces.  
  
"This creature is a child of an unholy demon…" Preen started, pushing down against the assassin with all of his might, now holding her eyes in a mutual deadlock. "I am simply dong what should have been done long ago when this beast was first found."  
  
"He has saved my life more than once, Zakarum. Now, if you wish to take his, you will have to go though me."  
  
Unbelieving of what he had just heard, Preen pushed away from the assassin, brimming her grip on him and tang a few steps back, taking up battle stance with his blade, the assassin doing the same, save that she had unfortunately lost her last claw weapon in Griswold's back.  
  
"This monster is not worthy of your loyalty, Kassyera." Preen said, pulling his kite shield from his back, "I do not know how he has bewitched you so, but rest assured that I shall not let his blatant lies rule your life."  
  
"If you wish to talk about lies, shall we begin with the Prophecies of Akarat?"  
  
"This monstrosity does not deserve life in this world!" Preen argued, his face flushed. "And if you are so willing to throw your life away for the sake of the beast, then by my own honor, your life is forfeit." Preen brought his blade up in his warrior's salute. "Die well, Kassyera!"  
  
"STOP THIS MADNESS!" The voice of Akara rang above them as the seemingly frail High Priestess of The Sightless Eye came marching back across the otherwise abandoned portion of the encampment. "There shall be no blood spilled here!"  
  
"High Priestess!" Preen turned about, still completely convinced that he had done no wrong. "This creature is not of this world! I implore you to allow me to return this evil to the hells from wince it came!"  
  
The glare that the priestess gave the paladin could have been enough to explode many weaker hearts.  
  
"This is not the Travencal, Son of Zakarum." Akara said, her sharp voice putting to rest any lingering doubts of where she would stand on this matter. "I will not let death and fear of punishment be the rule here. And I shall not allow for murder in my camp."  
  
"It is not murder! It is justice!"  
  
"FOR WHAT!?" Kassyera cried out in her own frustration while Akara pushed past, moving down to attend to the still unmoving Elric.  
  
"IT IS A DEMON! IS THAT NOT REASON ENOUGH!?"  
  
"HE HELPED SAVED OUR LIVES!" Kass shot back, "HE PUT HIMSELF THOUGH MANA BURN SO WE COULD GET BACK HERE!"  
  
Akara knelt down by the half-demon, looking him over.  
  
"You are an assassin. Killing corrupted wizards is all part of your life. A little exhaustion from overusing magic and you trust your life to that thing!? Don't be so sure that it would do the same!"  
  
"He's not exhausted…" Akara said faintly, feeling at Elric's neck and drawing the attention of both warriors.  
  
"He's dying…"  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"YOU DID WHAT!?" Natalie was beside herself with the anger while the stoic paladin sat down in the High Priestesses tent, still completely confident that he had done nothing wrong.  
  
"Bring him in here." Akara told the assassin carrying the half-demon into the quartered off back area of the tent.  
  
"If it weren't for the facts that I'm still suffering from mana burn and I can't lift my arms, I would take you down myself!" Cathim started, still sounding weary from before.  
  
Akara tried to tune it out as she closed the curtains to her private quarters while the now hostile warriors and spell casters began to bicker amongst themselves.  
  
"Lay him face down on the bed." Akara ordered. And Kassyera obeyed, though still trying to understand several things.  
  
"Why not take him to the camp's healer?" She asked.  
  
"Because of what he his." Akara said simply, still trying to tune out the babbling behind the curtain as Preen the paladin attempted to justify himself. "I doubt that the arrogant fool would react any differently than the paladin. Now, cut the back of his tunic."  
  
"Alright..." Kass had to look about for a moment before realizing that she already had a dagger handy and went to the task, carefully sawing thought the surprisingly tough material while avoiding the bandage that she had put over the wound before.  
  
"What happened there?" Akara asked, seeing the bandage as she opened a small chest of healing potions and utensils that she had managed to salvage from her stores in the monastery.  
  
"He was shot with an arrow in the graveyard. I tried to tend it myself but..." Kassyera jumped back slightly as he peeled back the bandage that she had set only a few hours ago. "Oh my..."  
  
What had at one point been a single, rather small infected wound had spread into a sickening, rotting black mass of exposed scales and underlying flesh that seemed to sink deeper into his body.  
  
"How...how..." Kass stuttered for a moment before the High Priestess gently nudged her aside. "How was he still standing with that sort of injury?!'  
  
"I've seen this sort of thing before in my youth, back when I was an acolyte." Akara said, using a silk cloth to press dry some of the infection, drawing some slight twitching and a painful growl from the unconscious half-demon. "Likely he didn't feel a thing unless pressure was put on the wound. This sort of infection festers and eats away at the body until it finally impacts something vital to the system. It usually takes months to develop, though. The fact that it has come on so quickly is a cause for alarm."  
  
"What should I do?" The assassin asked.  
  
"Go outside and shut them up." Akara said flatly, gesturing to the curtain and the still shouting adventurers on the other side. "This will be very difficult enough without them attempting to blow down the walls of my tent."  
-----------------------------------  
  
"HE'S MY BROTHER!"  
  
"'IT' IS A MONSTER! One that would not hesitate to turn against you f given a chance!" Preen started again, still not allowing himself to get worked up despite the fact that Natalie, Tozam, and Cathim were glaring at him. Raid and Durom on the other hand, sat back, listening to the arguments. "  
  
"How would you know?" Tozam asked harshly, "And where do you get off judging him!?"  
  
"It is the duty of the chosen of the light to destroy the darkness where ever it is found."  
  
"And I suppose you use your mighty brain to tell the difference." Cathim chimed in, still unable to move any of his appendages. "I do have a penchant to disagree with your opinions, Preen. but in this case, I must concur."  
  
Natalie and Tozam turned to face the Necromancer in disbelief as Kassyera came back though the separating curtain.  
  
"Yes. Paladins do have a duty to cleanse the land of darkness." Cathim said again, slyly. "That is why they kill just as many or more people as the so called 'demons' they fight."  
  
"We strive to purify the ranks of humanity for the time ahead." Preen tried to explain. "Those who do not stand against the evil that has come to consume this land can not be allowed to fight on it's side."  
  
"Don't tell me that you actually swallowed that!" Natalie started again before being cut off.  
  
"Can I say something?" Raid asked. "What's different from an hour and a half ago? You know, besides the fact you guys are mana burned and I'm five hundred gold pieces richer?"  
  
"We know now..." Durom chimed in now that he and the Amazon had the others attention. "That's the only difference. Raid and I trusted him enough before knowing anything for certain and I see no difference now."  
  
"You have sent too much time around trees, Druid!" Preen replied violently. "You do not understand true evil."  
  
"None of you do."  
  
The soft, declarative voice that now came from the opening of the tent was a welcome turn of events as the old sage entered the tent.  
  
"None of you have even begun to glimpse the true nature of this evil that you have foolishly set yourselves to face. You all have my gratitude for saving me, however, such things must wait until there is time."  
  
"Master Cain...?" Natalie started, "You should be resting, elder."  
  
"Regrettably, there is no time. I must speak with Elric immediately."  
  
"That monster is a...OW!!!" Preen was cut off after being struck in the back of the head with the sage's staff.  
  
"You will speak of the half-demon with respect, Paladin." Deckard Cain said softly, bringing his staff back to lean on. "Elric Tasslewind is a hero. As true and tried as any who fought in the bowels of Tristram."  
  
"I KNEW IT!" Natalie turned with a smug look to the paladin.  
  
"Well... my mind is put to ease." Tozam nodded. "What did I say, Elric is alright."  
  
"Exactly..." Natalie agreed. " You see, It's not like he tried to kill anybody while we were out there."  
  
This point was very badly punctuated as a sudden gush of liquid struck out against the curtain separating the adventurers from the back of the tent, with a little slipping under the bottom and running thick along the ground.  
  
Even though Kassyera was the only one who was close enough to tell for certain, the others jumped with the first assumption.  
  
"Is that blood?" Raid asked rhetorically.  
  
"HGH PRESTESS AKARA!?" Natalie called out, more than a little concerned as she noticed Preen's hand slipping towards his blade.  
  
"EVERYTHNG'S ALRGHT!!" Akara's voce, strained from an obvious fright. "Apparently... I struck a nerve."  
  
"Do you need anything, high priestess?"  
  
"NO! Stay out there..." Akara's voce carried as much authority as fear. "This... this just became...much more complicated."  
  
---------------------------  
  
Akara's hands moved delicately, the small metal instruments pulling back on the decaying flesh. Buying herself a few moments, she wiped some of the splattered blood from her brow and tried to slow her spasming heart.  
  
The last thing that she had expected when she started trying to clean this wound and find the source of the infection was that she would be able to trigger such a dramatic transformation. Strangely enough, even though she had known from the moment that she had set eyes on Elric Tasslewind that he was a half-breed spawn, she had never thought that the outer human shell she had seen before could cover such a creature.  
  
What was worse now was that, even if her stomach wasn't turning, she was now uncertain she would even be able to help. Though she was a adequate healer of humans, she knew next to nothing about the anatomy of the more known demons, much less the enigmatic and far more rare half-breeds.  
  
One wrong move with the smooth, metallic pliers could cause another unforeseen effect that could be just as dangerous for her as it was for him.  
  
"Alright..." Akara swallowed, trying her best not to look down as the thing that she and her encampment had become indebted to growled in it's sleep. "Whatever you do, don't try to kill anything in your sleep."  
  
-----------------------------  
  
"This is blasphemy!" Preen shook his head, still gritting his teeth. " Consorting with this demonic refuge is a one way ticket to damnation! As horrific as breaking any of the codes of Akarat."  
  
"Really?" Tozam asked, "Wow... I'll be damned. I blaspheme at least three times a day."  
  
"Sometimes twice after lunch." Cathim followed up.  
  
"Can we please be serious here?" Natalie started up again, turning a glare to the two men.  
  
"No." Cathim answered, finally feeling able to pull himself up. "The situation is serious enough."  
  
"Indeed..." Preen sneered, keeping his arms crossed as he leaned back against the side of the tent. "The very thought that..."  
  
"SHUT-UP PREEN!" Raid hissed, still running coins though her fingers. "You have done nothing but whine and preach for over an hour. Now, in case you haven't noticed, no one is paying attention."  
  
"How long has Durom been sleeping?" Natalie asked.  
  
"Probably as long as those two have been chatting." Tozam pointed out flap the tent where Kassyera and Deckard Cain had gone out shortly after Preen had begun his assault on their ears.  
  
"I wonder what they have to talk about?" Natalie wondered, looking once again to the curtain splitting the large tent of the High Priestess in two.  
  
"I wouldn't worry too much, Natalie." Cathim said, "Akara is a obviously a very competent healer. Otherwise she would not have ascended to High Priestess."  
  
"But what's taking so long?" Natalie pulled herself to her feet again, pacing around for a few minutes before the mana burn came back on her, forcing her to sit down again."  
  
"Well, not much that we can do about it right now, Natalie." Tozam laid back.  
  
"There are many things that we shouldn't do though." Preen sad.  
  
"One more remark like that out of you, paladin, and I will roast you on a spit outside." Natalie snapped.  
  
Silence finally fell again, the snoring of the druid and a slight clinking of gold coins being the only break.  
  
It was not until fifteen minutes later that the high priestess, covered from top to bottom of her robe in blackish red blood, pulled back the curtain. An exhaustion clear on her face.  
Natalie jumped up, wringing her hands as she waited for news while Kassyera and Deckard Cain came back into the tent.  
  
"How is he?" Cathim asked carefully, noting how every eye in the room (with the exception of the two that Durom had closed) was now locked on the High Priestess of the Sightless Eye.  
  
"Well..." The High Priestess brought a clenched fist up to her chest. "It will cost me just about ever single healing potion in the encampment. But, the half-breed should recover."  
  
The visible sigh of relief from the sorceress was only outweighed by the paladin's sheer outrage.  
  
"High priestess, you are a leader of a respected military order. How can you justify saving this sort of creature."  
  
"He saved this encampment from an army of zombies..." Kassyera started from her position next to Deckard Cain. "Helped keep us alive at Tristram and, before that, he was the reason that Diablo fell at Tristram."  
  
"Wha..." This was more than enough to get the paladin's attention.  
  
"And I am also the High Priestess of a well known and respected 'Religious' order, Sir Paladin."  
  
"What do you know about all that?" Natalie asked, turning a suspicious eye to the assassin.  
  
"What did you think we were talking about out there, Zann Esu? The weather?" "This is no time." Deckard Can sad leaning heavily on his staff. "We must do everything that we can to get Elric back on his feet."  
  
"All four of them, or just two?" Tozam asked.  
  
"That will take some time, Master Cain." Akara turned her attention away from Preen, who was still flustered by this development. "The damage was quite extensive."  
  
"Damage?" Natalie asked. "From what?"  
  
"This." Akara held out her hand opening her hand for the first time to reveal a minute, silvery scrap of metal that gleamed brightly despite it's size.  
  
"That tiny little thing took down the big bad half-demon?" Tozam asked, surprised as he looked over the piece.  
  
"A tiny little spider could kill you in a matter of seconds , Little Bugga." Cathim said as he examined the small metal scrap. "Was it poisoned?"  
  
"To him it was." Akara said shortly, bringing the metal sliver back up and slipping it into a pocket inside of her robes. "I'll send some rogues around the encampment and have them pick up as many healing potions as they can. To close up that wound, he'll need every one."  
  
"May I see him?" Natalie asked, still wringing her hands.  
  
"Yes, but only you, young sorceress." Akara said after a moment. "Don't try to wake him."  
  
Natalie nodded as she pulled back the separating curtain, understanding the High Priestesses reasoning perfectly.  
  
"The rest of you wait and rest up here." Akara ordered.  
  
"The hell…" Preen got to his feet. "I can not, in good conscience, stay here while the rest of you allow this creature to roam the world. Forgive me, Friend Tozam, but I can no longer travel with you. Raid, we must take our leave!"  
  
"As if…" Raid shook her head, pushing Durom's head off of her shoulder while she turned to face Preen. "I got a hundred percent cut of what I found in Tristram without so much as a single cross word or counter claim. Plus, Tozam was right. That'll be one hell of a story to tell the little sisters back home."  
  
"Then so be it…" Preen said, sounding disappointed at the prospect of parting ways with the Amazon. "I shall keep you in my prayers,."  
  
"Okay, just make sure the prayers involve lots and lots gold." Raid waved the paladin off, going back to counting out the coins.  
  
"What? No prayers for me, Preen?" Cathim smiled, still stuck in his stationary. "Good-bye and good riddance."  
  
"You can't go." Deckard Cain said evenly, stopping the paladin in his tracks as he made for the tent flap. "None of you can. You are already involved in this." Cain looked around the tent. "All of you." This stunned the motley group, drawing all eyes to the elderly sage.  
  
"Say what?" Durom asked, his eyes still closed.  
-------------------------------------  
  
Natalie mourned for a moment before she found a small wooden stall to sit upon. Her cloth boots now ruined by the blood that still laid all over the ground. Now Natalie understood why Akara had been covered in blood.  
  
"Well, little brother. You still have quite a flare for the dramatic." She said, leaning over and looking over his sleek black scales, pausing for a moment when she saw the gaping hole at the top of Elric's back. "Getting everybody worried like that. Just like the old days." She laughed slightly. "You know, you didn't have to go and get yourself hurt. You could have just gone and gotten lost again. But no, where would the fun have been in that?"  
  
There was no response from the still sleeping half-demon, of course.  
  
Natalie sighed.  
  
She hadn't had much time to think about it until now, but they had really changed a great deal since those old days.  
  
She had been a simple girl, the daughter of a humble farmer, when the Zann Esu came to their home one winter. Elric had only been seven years old then, and barely the size of a full grown cat. And, as usual when anyone from outside the village came to the door, Elric had hidden when the powerful Zann Esu recruitment woman had invited herself to a dinner with the family.  
  
At the time, Natalie had never suspected that she was being tested during the polite dinner conversation. She had been young… and so had Elric.  
  
After she had been offered the apprenticeship, it had taken three days to explain to the little half-demon that she was leaving, likely to never return. At one point, she had even caught him attempting to stow-away in her carrying case.  
  
Memories stirred in her head as she continued to watch her sleeping brother.  
  
She was surprised when she suddenly realized that he was no longer lying still but twitching slightly as he lad face down on the table.  
  
"Rest well, Elric." Natalie sighed, realizing now just how tired she was. "I get a feeling that we are going to be needing you."  
  
The sorceress fell silent then, leaning back and simply watching the half-demon shake and twitch on the table. In that time, she tried to relax like she did back in those old days in Atisar.  
  
Leaning back in the seat, Natalie watched Elric, wondering what he was dreaming about.  
------------------------------------------  
  
"I was apart of this expedition to discover more about what the connection between the Tree of Inifuss and the Carin stones. I have a duty to report back to Glor-an-Fhaidha to tell them of the…"  
  
"There something far more important here and now, Druid . All seven of you are part of this now. And there s no telling what the result may be if any of you left."  
  
"Okay.. Okay…" Tozam rubbed his eyes, trying to figure out what was happening. " What exactly are you talking about? What is this grand design?"  
  
"That….I do not know." Cain said simply. "However, I do recognize providence when it stares me in the face."  
  
"Oh gods…" Tozam fell back. "It is true. Every man that lives past the age of sixty tries to hide their senility by talking in riddles. And here I thought that was only my people."  
  
"Can you give us a straight answer, Master Cain?" Cathim asked.  
  
"Of course."  
  
Silence held sway for a moment as the small group waited for the elder sage to speak again.  
  
"Well…?"  
  
"I can't give a straight answer without a question." Cain shrugged as thought it were the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
"Alright! Here's a question. Why is it that I can't leave these demon-serving wretches behind?" Preen shook his head violently. "What possible incentive is supposed to keep me from striking out on my own to battle with the forces of evil rather than socialize with them?!"  
  
"Because I said that you will. That should prove incentive enough." Cain said flatly, drawing stares from the surrounding warriors while he sat calmly in the center of the tent.  
  
""You could have gotten out of that cage at any time, couldn't you?" Raid asked. "You had the means with that scroll. You were waiting for someone… waiting for us…. to come and rescue you."  
  
"Well, I could have gotten out of the cage, but it would have done me little good. So, I'm out of the cage and out of Tristram. What then, might I ask?" Cain looked up knowingly. "I set off to right the wrongs of the world as the Last son of the Horadrim?" The old man laughed. "I have never been a warrior, young Amazon. I am a scholar . I have spent my life studying ancient legends and prophecy. And I know the difference between coincidence and providence."  
  
The sage looked around the room, smiling at the fact that he had a captive audience.  
  
"The thought that seven mere mortals were able to penetrate the bowls of demon infested Tristram though a gateway that has been sealed for generations s enough to boggle the imagination."  
  
"Well, it wasn't that hard, Old man. All we had to do was…" Tozam was cut off by a elbow from the necromancer.  
  
"What he means, Elder Cain, is that Tristram was not so heavily guarded. And we would have been overwhelmed had it not been for you and your portal."  
  
"You went there, Priest of Rathma. Despite whatever fear you must have felt, despite whatever odds you thought you faced, you came though. And if that is not noble, then I do not know what is."  
  
"In here… In here…" Akara came back though the tent flap, followed closely by two rogues with arms filled with the small glass vials of healing potion. "Take them to the sorceress n the back. Elder Cain, I must consult with you immediately." "Indeed." Cain nodded, hauling himself up out of his position. "We have to gather together the leaders of this camp. The caravan master, the Battle-Eagle… Anyone who has pull and resources. Also, I want them to sit in on the meeting." Cain nodded to the adventurers. "And we must wait until Elric is awake."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I have no intention of repeating myself."  
  
"Okay… but I have one last question though." Tozam said. " How did you manage to survive for so long in that cage without anything to eat or drink?"  
  
"Mage robes, my dear Barbarian… Lots of pockets and good preparation can allow a person to survive damn near anything."  
  
-------------------------------------------  
  
"You've been here for hours. You should get some sleep, sorceress."  
  
Kashya's voice came as a surprise to the drowsing spell-caster, rocking her from her stupor with the shock.  
  
"Battle-Eagle…" Natalie turned to see the red-headed rogue before trying to rub the bags from her eyes. "What do you want? He hasn't done anything."  
  
"Yes he has. Kassyera just told me about what happened n the Burial Grounds." The Battle-Eagle's voice was a strange mixture of apology and awe. "I can hardly believe that he defeated Blood Raven."  
  
"You'll soon learn that he s full of surprises, Kashya."  
  
"Not the least of which…" Kashya made a gesture towards the still sleeping, demonic Elric. "You say it, you think about it, and you hate him for it. But you never really understand what it means when he says that he is half demon until you see it."  
  
"Yeah…" Natalie looked back to her brother while the Battle-Eagle sat down next to her. "You have to admit, he's much more imposing when he's like this."  
  
"Not to mention scarier."  
  
"True enough."  
  
"Listen… I was wanting you to…ummm…" Natalie could tell now that the Battle-Eagle was having trouble putting together her words. "If you could… Thank him for me. And remember… you now have my support… and that of the Rouges."  
  
"Well… That's all well and good but…"  
  
"Keep in mind that still don't trust that creature… But he seems to be a favorite of Master Cain and seeing as how your little party doesn't seem to be ready to move anywhere fast. Don't read anything into it, Just think of it as me letting you all have some support before you are torn apart by the monsters at the monastery."  
  
"Actually… was gong to tell you…."  
  
"And don't try to be taking any of my higher ranking archers on suicide missions… I need them here. And when the beast wakes up, don't tell him that you heard this from me… This was more of a courtesy as it is."  
  
"Battle-Eagle!" Natalie finally cut Kashya off. "He is awake."  
  
"What?" Kashya's eyes moved from the sorceress back to the half-demon, wincing slightly as the half-breed's head rose off the table and one of the four clawed paws came up and waved in a childish 'Hello' motion. "Oh…Well…"  
  
"I think I'll just… give you two the room." Natalie stood up cautiously, stretching out her sleeping muscles as she slowly walked out of the room.  
Silence held for several moments while the Battle-Eagle kept her eyes locked on the shining… almost glowing green eyes of Elric Tasslewind.  
  
"So… Blood Raven killed Alisa?" The half-demon said, his voice dry and parched from his slumber.  
  
"Are you going to tell me that it's not true?"  
  
"No, but you should have told me the whole truth."  
  
"if had told you that t was Alisa Malthion in the burial grounds, rising the dead as zombies, you wouldn't have been so eager to go out and kill her."  
  
"I'm never eager to kill…" Elric lied, "I do what has to be done."  
  
"I'm sure you do. But would t have been any easer if you had known beforehand?"  
  
Elric had to think for a moment before solemnly answering.  
  
"No."  
  
Kashya sighed.  
"Alisa was once my closest friend, half-demon. But still, I pray that her tortured spirit remains banished forever."  
  
"Amen, Battle-Eagle…Amen."  
  
Another rogue came though the tent flap, jumping for a moment at the sight of Elric and then remembering her training and turning obediently to Kashya.  
  
"Forgive me, Battle-Eagle. They are ready for you."  
  
"Well, that's good, soldier." Elric shook his head. "Now, get me a mana potion before I do something demonic."  
  
----------------------------------------  
  
"Some time ago I came across a few survivors of Tristram. As remember it , they said that Cain had gone mad during the invasion and could no longer distinguish fact from fantasy."  
  
"I have spoken with him quite often since his rescue, Warrvie." The assassin told the Caravan Master. "As far as I can tell, he is one of the most sane men that I have ever met."  
  
Durom pulled away from the conversation. Stoic and silent as always while his eyes darted around the secured area surrounding the High Bell.  
Aside from the adventuring group there were very few attendees. Akara, Natalie, and Deckard Cain were by themselves quietly discussing something, what he did not now. Cathim was attempting to talk sense into the still reluctant paladin while the larger barbarian held the necromancer (and more importantly the hand holding the necromancer's knife) back. Raid sat off n to the side, apparently giving tips on archer to one of the younger looking rogues standing guard. Among them were also several other important members of the camp, being the camp's blacksmith, a firm, powerful looking young woman with an obvious trace of barbarian blood; Warrvie, the Caravan Master and appointed civilian representative; and Gheed, the pudgy, sleazy self-appointed representative of the Merchant's Guild.  
  
"Given the men around here, Viz-Jaq'taar, that's not so hard to believe."  
  
"True….True…"  
  
"Okay… what's the big emergency!? I had to leave my cart, my merchandise… My dinner… all behind… so this had better be good."  
  
"Stop your squawking, Gheed. We have no time for such nonsense." Warrvie silenced the merchant and putting his conversation with the assassin aside. "We have serious business to attend here."  
  
"Business most serious indeed." Cain said, coming back to the group with Akara and Natalie at each side. "We now stand at a dangerous junction. And every side of the situation must be understood if we are to survive the dark times that lie ahead."  
  
"Then what are we waiting for, Wise-man?" Tozam asked, turning away from the scowling paladin for the first time since the group had gathered together. "Start talking."  
  
"We await only the Battle-Eagle." Akara said softly.  
  
"As well as one or our party members." Natalie reminded the high-priestess forcefully.  
  
"He may have woken up, Sorceress." Akara turned to Natalie. "But the wound he suffered was far too extensive. Mark my words, he won't be going anywhere for a while."  
  
"You wanna make a bet on that, High-Priestess." The entire group looked stunned as the human-like Elric strolled casually up to the high bell area, side by side with the Battle-Eagle.  
  
While Akara, Kassyera, Preen, and the rest of the group gawked for a moment at the supposedly injured Half-demon, Deckard Cain merely smiled, giving a knowing glance over to the sorceress as though he understood something that the others did not comprehend.  
  
"Now then… It is time to begin."  
  
----------------------------------------  
  
Now, sitting around the large fire that Akara had summoned into being, all eyes and ears were open as the Last Horadrim began.  
  
"Regrettably, I was the only man in Tristram who knew the truth of the red gem that had been buried for so long beneath the ancient tower. Even when the thrice cursed King Leoric came to the land and decided to make the tower his power base, I used all of the influence had to try and stop them. Unfortunately, the voice of a mere town elder fails to turn the mind of a King. Even so, I had hoped that the blood-red stone that had been buried beneath the Catacombs would go undiscovered. I had hoped that Diablo would remain sleeping in his crystal prison."  
  
The Sage rubbed the bridge of his nose, his expression somewhere between frustration and sadness.  
  
"By Gods, I was so naive."  
  
"And after the heroes defeated the beast, what happened?" Warrive asked, just as interested in the sage's story as the information for which he had been rescued.  
  
"Well, after a week and a half of grand celebration, the people settled, ready to get on with their lives. Some two months went by and both Alisa of the Sisterhood and Vijaha had already left the township leaving only the mighty warrior, Kalin. He had no family and nowhere else to go. With no wars to fight, he stayed in Tristram, where he was welcome. As time passed, a strange change started to come over our hero. He became increasingly aloof and seemed to be falling into a deep, brooding depression. There were many times that I awoke in the dead of night to his crying out in his sleep. Always something about 'The East'. At first had thought that the ordeal below the town had been so devastating as to crush even his mighty spirit. The truth however… was far more horrifying."  
  
"Diablo." Akara shook her head, already coming to realize the terrible end of the sage's story.  
  
"Yes." Cain nodded sadly. "I do not know how it could have happened, but somehow, the Lord of Terror took hold of the hero who sought to slay him. Several days after he first woke me in the night, he simply left without a word, taking only his blade and a simple cloak. Shortly after he left, the demons returned, in greater force that even I could have ever imagined. They ravaged what was left of the city to the ground with hellish brutality. A few of us evaded the foul beasts night after night following the first onslaught. They were distracted then by the plentiful bounty and captives. However, we could not hide forever. Once the minions were bored with their playthings, they sought out new ones. And found us."  
  
Deckard Cain shuttered at the memory of what had happened to those who had hidden away with in in the under-cellar of his home. Of the torment that was wreaked on them while the scarred one simply threw him aside, deciding instead to show his trophy off for as long as he could.  
  
"The others were tortured and mutilated while the two women with us were raped to death by the creatures. The under-lord that had been appointed to watch over the derelict Monastery recognized me for what I am, a Horadrim, and threw me into that cursed cage to slowly starve and rot with my guilt and loss."  
  
"But now you are here, Master Cain." Akara attempted to comfort the elder, "You can help avenge them by striking against the minions of this evil. With your help and wisdom, we can stand against Andariel."  
  
"Andariel is merely a symptom of a much larger problem, High Priestess!!" The sage snapped, turning quickly on the Rouge leader. "None of you truly understand the scope of catastrophe! Do you believe that Tristram and your ancestral monastery were tragic losses!? It is only the beginning! The might of the Hells are aligned behind The Lord of Terror once more, yet he remains in this world." The sage paused for a second, needing time to catch his breath before continuing. "He has taken hold of a powerful mortal. One more powerful than any that could have been found in Tristram before his arrival. This is reason to fear."  
  
The group was silent for a moment.  
  
"So, we're all doomed… what else is new?" Gheed shrugged. "Well, thanks for the warning, pops. Now, I have a bowl of Narse Weed that I've been saving for just such an occasion."  
  
"WE CANNOT SIT BACK AND DO NOTHING!" Kashya was far more outraged by the sage's words than any of the other members of the stunned audience.  
  
"No, we can't." Cain agreed with a nod. "But things must first be taken into perspective. Only fools rush headlong into battle without some form of a plan."  
  
"That much is certainly true, eh, Tozam?" Cathim broke his silence, still attempting to recover from his mana burn.  
  
"Aye!" Tozam answered without thought before something occurred to him. "Wait a sec… I thought that rushing headlong into battle WAS a form of a plan?"  
  
"Infidels." Preen rubbed his pounding temples, trying to relieve the horrible headache that seemed to come on every time that the looked at the creature that was sitting across from him.  
  
"Ahem…" Deckard Cain called the two adventurers attention back to himself. "First things first. Warriv has informed me of this 'Dark Wanderer' who seems to have sown terror and corruption in his wake. Judging by the Wanderer's reaction and destination, it is no great secret that this Dark Wanderer is the Hero of Tristram, Kalin, or, more accurately, the vessel of Diablo. The Prime Evil seeks something in the East. And whatever he seeks can not bode well for the world of Sanctuary. Now, only days after his passage alone though the Rogue's Pass, Andariel rises from her kingdom in the upper levels of Hell to corrupt and slaughter the sisterhood and block the passage. We must ask ourselves: Why?"  
  
"He doesn't wish to be followed." Durom answered the question flatly. "So long as he can stay ahead of his own wake, there is no reason for anyone to resist him as he moves east. However, if he word of his coming were to reach the cities of the Aranoch desert and Lut Gholein. His path could be blocked."  
  
"That is certainly true, young druid. So the only way to combat this evil is to first strike our obstacle. Unfortunately, Diablo chose his guardian well. Andariel shall not be an easy target. Her corrupting anguish has already swallowed most of the Sisterhood and shall threaten more as time passes. In this short time, she has amassed an army of monsters that could well outnumber this encampment more than a hundred to one."  
  
"So it is hopeless." Charsi drooped, her golden hair almost losing luster by the moment.  
  
"No."  
  
All eyes now turned to the new speaker, who had been sitting in brooded silence since the sage had began.  
  
"It is not hopeless." Elric said, opening his dull green eyes for the first time since Master Cain began to talk. "Andariel has made several vital mistakes which have made her vulnerable."  
  
"Andariel is surrounded by an army of unquestioning demon monsters, centuries old stone walls, and possesses all of the might suitable of a Demon Queen. And you have the gall to say that she is vulnerable, Half-Breed?!" Flames seemed to shoot from Kashya's mouth as she spoke.  
  
"She is bound to this world now, Battle-Eagle." Elric replied coolly. "For all intensive purposes, she is mortal now. We can kill her."  
  
"If you can even get close to her, she carries magic far greater than we have here. She may be 'mortal' now, and I do use the word in it's loosest term, but so what? She is still a demon."  
  
"Exactly." Elric shot back. "She is arrogant, self-important, and has lived since the beginning of time. To demons, death only last as long as their master bids it to last. I don't think that she understands what it means to die in our world. She doesn't know what she has given up to move her power to this realm."  
  
"So she can die, Creature." Preen said, refusing to meet the half-demon's eyes. "So can we, and a lot easier I might add."  
  
"And there is still the matter of the army of demons and the magic of a demon bitch queen to worry about." Raid inputted.  
  
"Andariel's forces are based on the thought of a large scale assault. Demons think in terms of sheer numbers and savagery. I don't even have to look at a map of the Monastery to know that there are holes in their defenses. A small group can get in past the front lines and the bulk of the hoard to tear the place apart from the inside out."  
  
"Who in their right mind would try a fool stunt like that?" Warrive asked, looking at the green eyed boy with a slightly different light than he had before. Rumors of the half-breed had swept like wild fire though the camp, but the Caravan Master still could not see this child as a monster.  
  
"I will." Elric answered without hesitation.  
  
"So will I." Natalie answered a moment later.  
  
"The odds are stacked against us and the situation is most grim." Kassyera smiled. "Sounds like fun."  
  
"Well, you know I'm not going to turn down a suicide mission." Cathim shrugged. "And seeing as how little bugga and I are attached at the hip, he'll come to. But I swear… If I suffer mana-burn again, I am never going to let any of you forget it."  
  
"Uhhh, what he said." Tozam looked around at the group. "Minus the mana-burn stuff."  
  
"I will not follow that creature anywhere." Preen crossed his arms indignantly. "However… there s a greater evil at work now. And if t s the will of the Light to vanquish this evil beside that monstrosity… Then so be it."  
  
"Well, seeing as how the alternative would be to wait around and do nothing while others partake in the glory of battle, how can I say no?" Durom lifted his great spear up to use the blade like a mirror. "I might look good with a few new scars."  
  
"Let's see… stay here and count out cons. Or be able to add 'Maiden of Anguish' to the list of things that I've helped kill. Well… That hardly stands up in any debate. I'm game." Raid smiled.  
  
"Good, and we can use every archer we can get. We'll need a distraction to get in, every archer that Kashya can muster, and a map of the Monastery." Elric followed up. "Along with supplies… lots and lots of healing and mana potions."  
  
"My rogues can stage a quick strike at the Monastery gates to buy you time." Kashya nodded, liking the plan that was now beginning to form. "And I can give you the information for an infiltration plan. Potions however…"  
  
"Can be bought through me." Gheed spoke up with a grin, absently rubbing his hands together. " I believe that a reasonable donation of six or seven hundred gold per vial is reasonable."  
  
"Or we can have you thrown to the wolves outside the camp and confiscate all of your merchandise." the annoyed militant's eyes shot daggers at the trader. "You were ordered to turn over all healing potions before, Gheed! The fact that you held back n a pathetic excuse to make a profit would be reason enough to have you hanged."  
  
"I think that I can provide a few wolves if you need them, battle-eagle." Durom smiled as the greasy merchant squirmed under Kashya's fiery red gaze.  
  
"Well…. Uhhh…" Gheed wiggled uneasily in his seat, hating this unfortunate turn n events. "If t helps the war effort… suppose that we could, you know, make another deal."  
  
"Or you could just turn them all over." Cathim smiled grimly, pulling his battle-wand from the carrier at his side and twirling it in his fingers. "After all, good things come to those who give, Gheed. And horrible… terrible things tend to happen to fools who try to make gold on the suffering of others."  
  
Gheed shuttered visually. He remembered that he had a run in with a necromancer once before and, as a result, he now had a large numbers of large, painful boils on his arse. And he had been lucky. Still, Gheed had hoped that he would never have to deal with the priest of Rathma again.  
  
"Right…" Gheed stammered, unable to keep from shaking while Cathim continued to twirled the wand in his fingers. "Their in my wagon… third drawer back on the bottom shelf."  
  
"Than you for your generosity, Gheed." Cathim smiled, loving every minute of it. "Be sure to advise the other traders to cooperate with the Battle-Eagle's rogues."  
  
"Of course." Gheed nodded obediently.  
  
"Well." Deckard Cain allowed a small, superficial chuckle. "I do believe that we have all formulated the beginnings of a plan to tae back the monastery. All ideas are valid, but we must prepare this as carefully as possible. Battle-Eagle: You shall draw up a plan of attack and put together your forces. Lades and gentle men:…" the sage looked to each of the adventurers in turn. " I would suggest that you rest. It will take some time to formulate a strategy. Also, Warrvie prepare you caravan. We must depart immediately after the monastery is opened. Many lives may now depend on it. And… High Priestess:…" Can looked now to Akara, their eyes meeting as they shared the single passing moment. "I would as the you would pray for us again. I get the feeling that we are going to need it."  
  
----------------------------------  
  
Three hours had passed since the meeting and now the entire encampment was alive with activity. Traders and travelers that had be lethargic for days now milled about, preparing to move out at the moment that Warrive's signal was given. The rogues prepared as well, fashioning additional arrows for their bows and readying any salvaged armor and supplies that they had been able to save from their monastery. Charsi worked as quickly as she could, turning out dozens of steel arrowheads in the hour with the help of several caravaners who she had deemed as her temporary apprentices. Kashya and Flavie argued in the command tent, each pointing and counter pointing the different areas of attack that were possible and ran through every possible scenario that they could think of as they formulated their battle plan. Akara on the other hand, lead the rogues in prayers and offered what comforts she could to the dismayed and battle weary archers of the Rogue Sisterhood.  
  
The most essential part of the entire operation: the small group of adventurers who had volunteered to infiltrate and destroy the Demon Queen, did next to nothing. Taking Deckard Cain's advice and resting up for the trials ahead, the group splintered in the camp, each individual doing their own version of 'Relaxing'.  
  
Kassyera spent most of her time with the surviving rogues, helping along as they moved material that would be taken into battle or walking along with them as they made their patrols and soaking up any and all information that she could get about the Monastery itself, from structures to places of greater religious and personal import. Durom, it seemed, isolated himself from the human inhabitants of the encampment, setting himself up by the single largest tree within the walls of the camp and lapsing into what could be described by onlookers as either a very deep meditation or a very light sleep.

Cathim and Tozam stayed together, staying in the makeshift bar and drinking ale until they were finally thrown out by the owners, who promptly took down the mess tent and started to pack their wares away for the trip though the mountain pass. From there, the barbarian and the necromancer wondered about, their jovial manner a stark contrast to the busy, troubled warriors and civilians around them. If either of the companions were concerned about their impending quest, they hid it very well behind a wall of slightly ale-induced laughter and humor.  
Like the druid, Preen the Paladin of Kurast secluded himself, sitting in deep prayer as he asked for guidance. Though, for the coming trials or a much closer problem was impossible to determine.  
Raid stayed just outside of the tent that she and Preen had set up in the camp several days before, jotting down this and that in a small, red book bearing a golden arrow emblem set in a silver moon. To the few that tried to speak with her, the Amazon seemed distant, almost Zen-like as she continued to move her quill across the book's parchment.  
Natalie, as could be expected from any magic user, took her time to look though the notes and books of the Art that Akara had saved from the Monastery. Drawn deep into the black and white type of the tombs, the sorceress took what she could from the writing, expanding her knowledge as much as possible in the short time they had.

Elric Tasslewind on the other hand, despite multiple warnings by Akara to 'Take things easily' actively moved around the encampment, drawing stares from many directions and even several quickly thrown and retrieved insults from various, unseen sources among the many moving people as he continued, deep in thought about what had come to pass and what he had seen.  
His true nature was no longer secret.  
  
In reality, he could never expect that such things could be kept quiet for very long.  
  
Finally, Elric saw the man that he had been looking for, the Horadric Sage: Deckard Cain, walk into a tent alone.  
Finally, the half-demon saw a chance for some answers.  
------------------------------  
  
"You knew the entire time, didn't you?"  
  
"Yes, Elric." The sage answered, not at all surprised that the half-demon had silently crept into the tent that the Rogues had given to him for rest. "Yes, I did."  
  
"Why didn't you tell us?" Elric asked, sharp pangs of anger in his voice. "Why did you string us along like that, sending us back and forth into the catacombs to find out for ourselves what was down there?"  
  
"It would not have changed anything, little demon."  
  
"The hell it wouldn't have!" Elric had to fight to keep his forked tongue from rolling out of his mouth. "We could have…"  
  
"You, Alisa, Vajiha, and Kalin would all have rushed in just as recklessly as you did before. The only difference would have been that you all might be fool enough to think that since you knew what was down there, you would not need any help defeating the beast."  
  
"You're wrong, Cain."  
  
"You of all people know that I am not, Elric." The sage shot back, his normal, grandfather-like tone becoming more rash and stern by the moment. "The only reason that the others accepted you is because they feared some dark and mysterious force that was a greater evil than you. The bond that you four forged in the caves afterward would not have happened if they had been able to put a name to the horror beneath the Catacombs."  
  
Elric swallowed the foul bile that seemed to be filling his mouth as the two argued. The human part of his brain had to concede to the Elder's point. Had it not been for Natalie, he would certainly not be standing in the encampment, much less being tolerated by the Rogues and others.  
  
"Horadrim…" Elric spat out sourly, "I never would have guessed. Everything that I found in the monastery in Tristram said that the great mages had long since passed away. I was under the impression that the casters and warriors of the Horadric Order had died off centries ago."  
  
"You 'assumed' that we all died off, half-demon. I never denied that I was of the Horadrim. Then again, I was never asked."  
  
Elric sighed. "You knew what I was from the beginning, didn't you?"  
  
"Yes. From the moment you walked into Tristram. I would have blown your cover then and there, but you did something that took me by complete surprise."  
  
"What?"  
  
Cain smiled slightly.  
"You let that mercenary live, Elric. You had all of the power and right to kill him on the spot for insulting you as he did, but you let him go. You managed to beat back all of his associates but didn't cause any real harm." The Sage's gaze became rock hard again. "Now, I'll be honest, Elric. I don't much care for you. You are young, impulsive, irrational, and foolishly reckless. None of which are traits that I hold in high regard. You are also half-demon, which most would find as reason enough for your immediate execution."  
  
"And yet you put up with me, both here and in Tristram."  
  
"Yes. Because there is one other, undeniable, fact that seems to work it's way into every detail that I find appalling about you." The old man bowed his head, "You're a hero, plain and simple. I don't care for you, Elric Tasslewind, but understand that I have nothing but the deepest respect for the things that you have done for the people of this world."  
  
"Thanks…I think." Elric felt a bit winded, having come into the tent furious and now finding little reason for such anger. "But I'm no hero, Elder Cain."  
  
"We'll see, Half-Breed. We'll see. Oh, by the way…" Cain's expression became more inquisitive. "What did you do to Gharbad?"  
  
"I ripped his limbs off and nailed him to a tree with his horns." Elric answered quickly, drawing an amused chuckle from the sage.  
  
"And Alisa?"  
  
Elric was knocked back by this one.  
"How… how did…?"  
  
"Kassyera. She told me about Blood Raven and what happened. I saw the result all the way in Tristram. I should have known that you were the one who preformed the Unfettering. But, still, the fact that Alisa fell to the corruption as Kalin did is reason for great alarm."  
  
"What about Vajiha?"  
  
"I fear the worse. Vajiha was a mage but still quite susceptible to the temptations of Diablo and the others."  
  
"Others?" Elric's eyes widened as he followed along. "You don't mean…"  
  
"Yes. Andariel's presences proves it. The forces of Hell are aligning behind the Prime Evil once again. And if Andariel is here, then that can only mean that…"  
  
"Azmodan and Belial are dead." Elric shook his head. "The binding of Hell to the mortal realm under Tristram…It was all a ploy, wasn't it?"  
  
"So it would seem, Elric. Diablo used his time there to regain his power in Hell. He was waiting for someone else, someone stronger than Albrecht to possess. Someone with a less that pure soul."  
  
"Kalin. Diablo never intended to drag Sanctuary into Hell. He was trying to get us down there, leaving a trail of bread crumbs with The Butcher, Leoric, and Lazarus."  
  
"Only one man knows for sure and we have to find him."  
  
"I know where he is, Cain." Elric looked the sage in the eye. "And I know which way he is going."  
  
"You know? How?"  
  
"I've seen it."  
  
--------------------------------  
  
Post  
  
See the next chapter for an explanation of what's been going on for the last few weeks... Sorry, but I sould be able to stay regular now that I have several things out of the way.  
  
:::Revamped 10-16-04:::


	15. Downtime: Raid

Diablo II: The Epic Behind the Game Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo II, I, or anything else that blizzard created. In fact, some of my dialog comes directly from the game, for accuracy purposes only. The Characters however are of my own design, directly from my chars on  
  
Uhhh... no update ths week.  
Seriously, guys.  
  
Sooooooo.... Go back about your lives, citizens. Nothing to see here.  
  
(Turns on X-Box and starts to play Fable and Halo again.)  
  
I have returned, my master.  
  
(Ramaon puts shotgun to the back of Robin's head.)  
  
Okay... belaying what I just said... On with the show.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Downtime: Raid.  
  
(The following s an excerpt from the personal journal of Raid DeAlkirk )  
  
Day 382 of Journey:  
  
What have I gotten myself into?  
  
When I left my home island of Philios, I had never suspected that my travels could lead me to such a dramatic and dangerous road. When I first began this, my life's journey, over a year ago, I had magned myself slaying monsters outside of a local village. Running off drunkards from the tavern to earn free room and board. Selling out my bow and skill to wealthy, paranoid merchants who traveled back and forth on the trading routes between Westmarch and Kingsport. I had pictured myself returning back to the Islands of my birth by this time, laden with gold and the spoils of battle against powerful adversaries both human and demonic. Then I would show those arrogant, self-righteous acolytes who wasted their days patrolling the jungles and hunting game that I was truly the finest of their class.  
  
The plan had been such a simple one.  
  
But now, everything has become so very complicated. Work in Kingsport was difficult enough to find for me. That is, any work that my pride would allow me to perform. With soldiers and male mercenaries plenty, the damn merchants never thought to hire a woman to guard their caravans or their lives. At first, I had thought that it was only the male dominate city of Kingsport that followed such low standards as to allow men an almost exclusive roll as warriors. Feeling that my chances of survival would be far better if I found a place more like home, I left out from Kingsport, traveling mostly alone and spending far more gold in the process than I had expected. But the vastness of Man's world was greater than anything that I realized before. The thought that there were entire continents run by men with entirely male armies had never been more than a silly childhood myth to me before. Now it seemed like there was nowhere outside of the islands that was truly safe from the rule of men or monster. Time and time again, I would come to a town where the sword rules over reason and the word of a woman was little better than the howl of a dog. Where daughters were prizes for farmers who impressed or bought the young girl's father with fancy gifts or dowries. Speaking to their newly captive wife as though they were merely servants to the husbands will.  
Such men who thought to speak to me in such a manner were turned away quickly, of course. Usually missing teeth or nursing broken bones.  
  
After a time, I began to realize that I would be gone from home longer than I had expected. I refused to return to my lands without the trophies and stories that were rightfully mine. I refused to let those nagging, second-string bow-women have their fun at my expense. I would find my fame and fortune in this hostile, man-ruled world. Then, rumor surfaced. Rumor of a dark force arising in the eastern land. It seemed that the King of Khanduras, the once great King Leoric, had gone stark raving mad, declaring war on his mighty neighbors for no reason and then leading a bloody massacre of his own people when his only son, Albrecht, turned up missing.  
  
A kingdom in distress.  
I could handle that.  
  
Unfortunately, as I journeyed nearer and nearer to the town of Tristram, where Leoric's throne resided, the rumors changed, becoming more and more dark and grim with every telling. By the time I crossed the boarder between Westmarch and Khanduras, Leoric had already fallen at the hands of his own Champion, the paladin Lachdanan, and supposedly had brought a dark curse down upon his city. Demons came and attacked the township, taking many innocent lives wrecking everything. And in the bowls of the tower that Leoric had made his home, a ancient darkness had awakened, threatening to swallow everything in evil.  
  
The more and more I heard, the more glory I expected when I would finally come to Tristram's rescue and proved once and for all that women were superior in the arts of war when compared to men. I would defeat this evil where the men of the Main Land had failed. And I would reap the rewards that would be gladly offered by the townspeople with both grace and humble superiority.  
  
I never got the chance. Less than two days away from Tristram, after weeks of travel in lush forest and grassy plain, word reached the caravan with which I was traveling that it had been Diablo, The Lord of Terror who had been wrecking havoc on Tristram. The details of the story were sketchy at best and no two renditions were alike. Apparently, the Exiled Evil had attempted to retake control of Hell by using some sort of magic to suck the world into it. I didn't and still don't understand why this would help him or why he would even bother when so much of the mortal world is screwed up like it is. But, in the end, it seemed pointless as a small group of heroes traveled down into the lowest levels of the Catacombs that I didn't even know were part of the tower and fought with Diablo twice. First at his level below the city, and then again above it after they brought the tower crashing down on the stupid demons head.  
  
I lost the biggest chance of my life to become a world-renowned hero. The Slayer of Terror. I lost the chance to bath in the adoration of thousands, all because I was late to the party.  
  
In the end, I avoided the town altogether. It was pointless now to go and try to start up my reputation as a warrior in a city that no longer needed saving.  
  
A month later, I had no gold left, every last coin that I had brought from my home, spent on food and travel expenses. How embarrassing.  
  
The only ray of hope in this vast disappointment appeared when I heard that among the group of heroes there had been a heroin who belonged to a society of warrior archers who dwelt in the mountain pass. At last, a place where my skill and prowess as a woman warrior could be respected (and perhaps hired). So I joined at last with Warriv's caravan as it moved closer each day to the Rogue's Mountain Monastery. The shock was great when we arrived to discover that the Monastery was under siege by a powerful enemy beyond the Rogue's power (or even mine) to repel. The Demon Queen Andariel had come, her corrupting presence spilling out into the Sisters of the Sightless Eye and devastating them as no other enemy could. Friend turned to foe and lifetime companions into hated enemies until, at last, we in the caravan were forced into a cold and brutal retreat from the stone walls of the monastery.  
  
So few good women in this world of men. And yet here they were being slaughtered like cattle. With my own limited resources, I could do nothing that was truly remarkable. The meager restitution offered to those mercenaries that helped in the patrols or scouting expeditions hardly made up for the danger and almost certain death that awaited most of the Sisters and their hired companions. So when I heard that there was gold to be made in the wilderness outside of the Rogue's Monastery, I did not hesitate. Boldly, I struck out alone to make my fortune back again. I sought out the dark tower of which I had been told. Supposedly, the tower had once been home to a vile, dark countess who had sacrificed innocent virgins, bathing in their blood with the belief that the pure life's water would keep her young and beautiful forever. It was said that, even though the countesses fortune had been split among a small group of intervening Zakarum priest during the First Conversions, that much of the gold had been hidden away in the cursed vaults below the crumbling tower.  
I found the fortune that i sought, but not before Preen found me. He had been though some ordeal that had disturbed him greatly and had apparently taken the lives of his former Zakarum companions. In my personal opinion, I don't think that Preen knew what he was really doing here in the western lands. He seemed to need a purpose, some reason for being at the time, and I think that he thought he could protect me. True he was a useful distraction when the undead Countess and her hand maidens.  
  
After that we returned to the Rogue encampment, our renown for the task we had completed hardly affected the rogues and merchants who did not even bother to greet us on our return. I suppose that they had other things on their minds.  
  
Mine and Preen's faithful encounter with Tozam started us into the current madness which I now find myself. Battling demons and numerous monsters that I had not expected to be so close to had I continued on my own. Also, with the present company I keep, I can not help but wonder what affect we will have on this world.  
  
My companions, while more numerous than I would like, have proven to be most useful (and more importantly, more generous) than any warriors or mercenaries with whom I have ever worked before. Now, don't get me wrong of course, I hardly need all of them to make my way, especially the men who seem to pride themselves on being my protector. Still they are quite handy to have around when the battle comes to close quarters.  
  
Preen was the first of my companions that I met, having all but appointed himself as my 'guardian' after some sort of horrific battle on the Blood Moor left him alone and seeking a new purpose. Up until recently, he has remained tolerable, if somewhat annoying. Lately though, it's as if all he can do is complain about Natalie's brother, Elric. Elric…. I'll get to later.  
  
Tozam I like. He is both a fierce fighter and a compassionate friend, qualities that I have missed most dearly since my departure from my homeland. Strong and skilled, he would fetch quite a fair dowry as a husband.  
  
Cathim on the other hand, seems to be almost the exact opposite. Cynical and sarcastic, the magic user is also very intelligent, often asking the questions that no-one else thinks of. I doubt that any respectable woman of the Amazon Isles would think to marry him unless absolutely no men remained. So far, I don't know what to think of Durom the Druid. He seems the quiet, thoughtful type, but fights with strength and skill that nearly rivals Tozam's martial prowess. I often wonder what thoughts are stirring though his mind as we speak of these world shattering events.  
Then there's Natalie and Kassyera, my sisters in arms. It is strange, but these two women seem like opposite sides of the same coin. While their lack of respect and blatant dislike for each other is apparent whenever the two come to blows, they also share a strange bond with Elric.  
  
I am fairly convinced that Deckard Cain is a madman. He speaks in riddles half of the time and acts as though he understands something that we adventurers do not. And he very well may. This plan of his to track down Diablo in the east is daring, I'll give him that. However, it is rather vague. We are to find Diablo and do…What exactly? The Lord of Terror has already claimed a hero once. What can we do to make sure that he does not do so again. Elric…. Well… When I first realized what Elric was, I found myself strangely unmoved. Even though everything that I had ever learned about the demonic world and the creatures of hell told me that I should fear and destroy such a creature, I found him less dangerous than Preen to begin with. Even though Preen acts as though Elric is the source of all evil in the world, I am not so sure. The Half-Demon is strangely contradictory to himself, sometimes speaking of intelligent things and of peaceful subjects, and then exploding into violence in a moment's notice. Though I have not yet seen Elric's true form, I have the strangest feeling that it will not matter to see his true face. For, even knowing what I know realize beyond a shadow of a doubt to be the truth, I can not see Elric as anything except the informative young man that knew the history of my godess. Sooner or later, I am going to have to ask how he came by that story.  
  
Well, they are calling us now. Deckard Cain has arranged for a final meeting before this 'operation' is to begin. I do hope that he has a plan for defeating the Demon Queen Andariel. From the little I saw back at the Rogue's monastery, I can only imagine the extent of her powers.  
  
End of Entry

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
(Robin sighs) okay okay, I know that there are a great deal of explaining for me to do. So, before anybody throws needles or tries to attack me again, please understand exactly what I've had to go though for the last month or so.  
  
First there was Charley, a tough little hurricane that tore into the state of Flordia. While this didn't affect me directly, it did introduce a very unfortunate side-effect into my life.  
Namely, my mother.  
  
For a few weeks, which really seemed like a lifetime, I was all but forbidden to do anything that even slightly resembled having something to do with fantasy because the woman is convinced that Fantasy and Satanism go hand in hand...(Sigh) I know she gave birth to me, but for the love of god... I had to hide my laptop just because I have Diablo decals on it. And, for six straight sundays while hurricane after hurricane battered my mother's home state, I was forced to dress up and go the (shiver) church.... (Skin crawls). While this may not be so bad for a normal person, I have a strict policy against hypocrites and the sothern baptist church that my mother chose in her time staying with me was the worse of a bad situation.  
After she finally left (hallijula) I finally managed to pass the only test which have consectuatvly faled n my lfe. Namely my drvng test. (MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA) Peoples that lve near me, and you know who you are, watch out. I am dangerous and I have a license to kill !  
  
After that, I managed to put up the last chapter (which by the way, has now been revised for spelling and content errors) but was slghtly dstracted by wor wth the only thng that s truely more mportant than ths Fanfcton n my lfe. Gettng what I hope to be my first novel ready to send off to publishers. If you have questions, I will be sure to use this fiction to advertise any and all landmarks in it's hopeful acceptance and and publications.  
  
Let's see, that's about it. Now that the story is ready for acceptance and publication I have nothing to really to keep me from updating more often. Due to the complication (namely the stupid job that i've had to take up for gas money) I will instead be posting every other Friday instead of every friday.  
  
Sorry about making you all wait so long. But I hope to make it worth all of your wiles.  
Well, time to get back to doing what I do best (Glues eyes open and starts to write while playing Halo with the other hand)

This is Robin "I promise I won't be late again" Shirewood, signing off.


	16. Chapter 15: The Board is Set

Diablo II: The Epic Behind the Game Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo II, I, or anything else that blizzard created. In fact, some of my dialog comes directly from the game, for accuracy purposes only. The Characters however are of my own design, directly from my chars on.

Okay... when I said two weeks, I kinda lost track of time... got addicted to World of Warcraft and Halo 2 and Work and... (Sits down and begs for mercy) I AM SOO SOO SSOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY!!!!

As penence... Chapter 15 AND 16 are now up for your reading pleasure... I can't promise a set date for next update,but I hope it isn't long from today... I am so tired of dodging Sniper Rifle bullets..

I'll shut up now so that you can read.  
No... really... Stop reading this.  
You are wasting valuable time.

I SAID STOP READING WHAT I AM SAYING!

Are you still reading this?  
Do you have nothing better to do that to read the opening?  
Go on to the story plz, that is what I really worked on for you.

Okay... Really...

Rogue Encampment: Time- 4 hours to Sunrise.  
------------------------------------------------------

"You're late, Raid." Preen berated the Amazon as she walked up to the small fire-side gathering under the shadow of the High Bell.

"Go stuff yourself, Preen." The warrioress retaliated coldly. She had realized during her moments of rest that she had run out of patience for the paladin's overly righteous atitude.

"Nobody's left yet, so I can't be that late."

"No," Charsi looked away from the fire that lay in the center of the semi-circle of allies. "We have only just sat down."

"And now, if you would all be so kind as to SHUT THE HELL UP!" Kashya snapped at the blacksmith and the Amazon, purple-gray bags apparent under her eyes.  
Raid wondered silently for a moment about the Battle-Eagle there was no doubt that she was exhauted both physically and mentally and that the stress of hter position must have been almost unbearable over the last few weeks. Given the difficult times in which the young, red-headed Rogue had become the leader of the Sisterhood's military might, it was not at all strange that she would begin to show signs of strain.

Shaking her head, Raid sat down with a resigned sigh.  
If nothing else, the Battle-Eagle was correct about one thing: There was no room for error and no time to waste.

So, without another interruption and, having now gained the group's undivided attention, Deckard Cain began.

"A wise man once said: "Know your enemy and know yourself, then you need not fear a thousand battles..."

"It's not the battle that anyone fears, Elder Cain..." Tozam inturrupted. "It's the death that is to come as a result of that battle."

For his moment of uncalled for insight, Tozam recieved a complimentry smack upside the head courtisy of Natalie.

"We don't have time for your games, Tozam! Just sit down, shut up, and listen!" The sorceress snapped feircly.

"Okay... Okay, I'll be quiet... Geesh." Tozam backed down, taking note of the nervious, slightly hostile looks that he was getting from everybody else.

"As I was saying..." Cain continued. "We shall require far more than simple strength of arms to accomplish this task. Knowledge of our enemy and her tactics will be crucial, as will be the precise timing of the operation."

The old man took a deep breath as he looked around the campfire to each of those gathered.

They each had a look of nervous anxeity.

'Not surprising before such a battle.' Cain thought.

"Okay, Master Cain..." Durom looked up, a strange calm showing in his eyes dispite the obvious tension. "What is the plan?"

"One thing at a time, Druid." Cain shook his head. "It will begin with the inital attack."

The Sage nodded to Kashya, who stood up, ready to share what she and her subordinates had come up with before.

"The most effective stratagy will also be the simpliest. My rogues will try to coordinate alightning strike attack on the Monastery's main gate." Kashya said solidly, giving off thefeeling that whe was putting a great deal of effort into making herself sound more confident than she felt.  
"With any luck, we could have more than half of Andariel's forces to the outer walls andraising defenses before they realize that we have already fled back into the hills. That distraction should be enought to give the rest of you a chance to get inside."

"I have a question." Preen raised his hand slightly, calling attention to himself. "Is thereany other way into the Monastery other than the main gate?"

"No." Kashya said curtly.

"Then, stop me if I'm wrong, how the hell are we supposed to do that? If you attack the gate, how can we get in? The first thing the monsters will do will be to gather on the other side."

"Don't worry, Paladin. I have it covered." Nataile interrupted with a sly smile.

"Oh? And how is that, sorceress?" Kassyera asked with a heavy dose of doubt apparent in her voice.

The Zann Esu chuckled slighty before guesturing in the direction of Akara, the High Priestess. Akara promptly answered the assassin's query.

"Inside the outer cloister of the Monastery, there is a Way Stone, not unlike the one found here in camp, that is surrounded by statues and monuments deticated to the heroes of our sisterhood. For years, I thought that it was merely a decorative stone. But now, we know the true purpose of the Ancient Way Gates."

"And we have the symbols to make a teleportation scroll. A perfect way past the monastery defenses." Natalie finished for the High Priestess, unable to contain herself. It was more than apparent by her enthuisam that this must have been her own idea.

"Yes." Cain shook his head slightly, "But unfortunately, once you are all inside, the outer cloister, you will be on your own. After the first portal closes, we can not risk you opening another until the task is complete. It would be an open door right into out face."

"We won't be able to anyways." Elric spoke up, an unnatural intelligence once again premeating his voice. "Once Andariel figures out what we're up to, she'll use her own magic to prevent any more mystic intrusions into her keep."

"She can do that?" Cahim asked, suddenly very curious about the half-demon's knoweldge of the darker powers.

"She can flood the entire monastery with enough dark magic to drown out such enchantments. Our own spells should work, but the aged powers of the Horadrim are far too weak and fragile to overcome such a disturbance." Elric told the group darkly.

"So you will have to work as quickly as you can without attracting the attention of the monsters. Once inside, you will have to fight your way to Andariel's throne-room in the lower catacombes. Once you are clear of the outer cloister, you will have to go though the Rogue's barracks and the jail to make your way into the inner clister and then though the central temple."

"Below the temple is where Andariel first appeared." Kashya informed the group, now sitting down in her spot around the fire. "There, her foul magic slaughtered many of my sister-warriors before her dark spirit possesed the body of my predecessor, the former Battle-Eagle."

"Seeing as how it is in the lowest part of the monastery, it is likely that the Maiden of Anguish will be trying to make her throne room as much like her home as possible."

"Okay, so we need to be prepared for some extreme heat." Tozam nodded, believing that he understood.

"Actually, quite the oppiosite." Elric interrupted.

"He's right." Cain agreed swiftly. "Andariel is the ruler of the first and parts of the second levels of Hell. In such places, non-magical fire is forbidden and the tempature is hardly above freezing."

"Andariel hates real fire." Elric explained. "Even though she was spawned from the pits of the Burning Hells, she has almost no resistance. That's why she consitered to be the weakest of the Four Lesser Evils."

"It is one of the few weaknesses that you will be able to exploit." Cain looked around at the group of adventurers. "Aside from that, there is little I can tell you about the Demon Queen herself except that she will not be subseptible to attacks that would normally slay humans. Forget using any sort of frost spells against her, they will have little affect. Also know that the Bitch Queen is also consitered the Maven of Venom. Beware her poisons, for they are exceedingly potent."

"Ooookkaayyyy..." Tozam was slightly confused. "So, how do we kill her? A fire-ball in the gut? Cut off her head? What?"

"Such tactics will kill the Host body that she has taken control of, Tozam." Cain expained. "However, even though she has been unbinded from Hell, the dark essense of Andariel will attempt to escape."

"And when it does..." Akara looked around at the group darkly. "There will be only one way to stop it."

"How?" Durom asked, his eyes (like everyone elses) were on the High Priestess.

"With this." Slowly, dramatically, Akara reached into her robe while nearly everyone held their breath, wondering with curiosity what sort of item would be capable of stopping the Madien of Anguish.

Of all of them, only Elric, Deckard Cain, and Charsi were not surprised (or dissapointed) when the High Priestess pulled the long, well used Silver Prayer Beads from her robe and into the fire light.

A moment of tense silence passed over the group that was hoping to defeat the might of a Hell-Borne goddess.

"We are going to beat Andariel's Evil Essence to death with a Bracelet?" Tozam asked cynically, not attempting or succeeding in pulling a laugh from anyone.

Elric winced slightly at the sight of the beads, the now familiar, almost constant sting in his back throbbing dramatically at the thought of what the cursed metal was capable of.

"Yes, unfortunatly." Akara shook her head sadly, holding the beads up in her hand for all to see. "This is Alchemical Silver. You all probably know it better as Angelic Steel or Demon's-Bane. If you all will remember, a tiny sliver of this material was enough to nearly kill your half-demon companion."

Eyes darted to Elric for a second as he squirmed under the combined glare. Even though reason told him differently, Elric couldn't help but feel as though every one of those eyeswere judging him, plotting against him.  
Planning to destroy him for his heritage.

With some difficulty, Elric shook the paranoia off. He had learned long ago that such suspisions were often unfounded and that they would have to be controlled, lest he would go truely mad.

"A single touch from one of these beads is often enough to kill many lower demons. While brandishing it should keep the undead at bay, if only for a while. The more powerful the demon, the more prolonged the contact must be."

"Alright, I know this may be a stupid question." Rain piped up, calling attention to herself for the first time since she had arrived. "But, do you have any weapons or anything made of that stuff?"

"Unfortunatly no. While weapons made of Demon's-bane are far more effective than these beads will be in battle, we simply do not have the means to smelt them into arrow or spear heads. Also, you must keep in mind that even though they have been gifted with demonic powers, these beads will have no effect on our Damned Sisters."

"Alright." Cathim shrugged, biting his lips as he kept his eyes on the beads in Akara's hands. "So, who gets the bracelet?"

"You will each get two beads." Akara said, pulling a small dagger from her robes and cutting the thread that had held the blessed prayer beads together since the founding of the Sisterhood.

"But... High Priestess." Kashya was apparently shocked by this development. "Those are ancient teasures of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye. Relics of our past. We shouldn't..."

"This is no time to worry about relics and material things, Kashya." Akara said firmly as

she stood up, walking around the circle and handing two beads to each of the human adventurers. "If all of the beads were kept in the hands of one person, and that single person was to fall, then all would be lost. This way, at least, they shall all be able to defend themselves."

At last, Akara came to Elric, who nerviously pulled back as the High Priestess approched.

"I don't need them." Elric hissed lightly, no longer feeling any need to hide his slight forked tongue in the presence of others. Besides, every time he hissed like that, it made Preen shiver in either fear or disgust... and thus, hightened Elric's own failing Moral.

"No.... of course not." Akara cast a weary eye to the half-demon, who had seemed to have become more withdrawn and brooding since his near death experience only a few hours ago. Slowly, the High Priestess moved around the half-breed and moved on to Deckard Cain, placing the precious silver in his and then closing it around the two orbs. "Keep them safe." She whispered to the Elder Sage. Too low for the others to hear, but more than loud enough for Elric's sensetive ears.

"I will." Cain nodded, matching her low voice before turning to the group once more.

"Failure is not an option! If you can not defeat Andariel now, then there will be no chance for any of us. We leave at dawn. All of us."

The Sage's words trailed off slightly.

"The Caravan will take us towards the Monastery and will take shelter several miles short of it in an abandoned cavern used as a storm shelter. The Rogue Squadron and yourselves, Adventurers, will then move closer and begin the mock assualt. Remember, Kashya, it is imperitive that your Rogues do not lead any monsters back to the Caravan. The Caravan must get through the pass as soon as it is open. We have already lost too much time in our race against Diablo."

"Agreed." Elric uttered shortly.

"And," Charsi spoke up. "For your mission, the merchants have pooled together their armors and wears. Anything that you need for this task is your if you ask."

This unexpected news brought a welcome change in the overall mood as Raid giggled excitedly.

"Oh Hell Yeah... Let's go Shopping"  
---------------------------------------------------

"Not a single wand or necromancer weapon in the entire lot." Cathim complained for a moment as he continued to go though a box of merchandise that had been so generously 'dontated' by the merchants of the Caravan.

"You complain too much, Catty." Tozam shook his head while he closely inspected a large chainmail shirt that he had found. he was used to battling with only his light leather armor, but given the task that had been set before him and the rest of his team, he didn't argue when given the chance at more effective equiment.  
"It's all free and still you complain."

"Yeah, I wonder what Kashya threatened to do to the other merchants if they didn't contribute?"

"Who cares. This is war-time. The Merchant's profit can come later. Right now, all that matters is that their lives are protected. If all that cost them some armor, then they should be grateful."

"Perhaps, Little Bugga, but still..."

"Sir Tozam?"

"Charsi?" the barbarian looked up,from the well-made chainmail and took note of how the young blacksmith of the Rogues had snuck up on him. "Thank you for the mail shirt. It looks like it could even stop one of Raid's arrows."

"Sir Tozam, there's something that we need to talk about..." The blond blacksmith said, shuffling nerviously on her feet.

"Oh, of course." Tozam nodded, oblivious to the young woman's anxiety.

"In private.... Sir Tozam."

"Oh...OOooohhhhh..." Tozam gave Cathim a sly sideways wink. "Okay, lead the way"  
---------------------------------  
::::One hour to Sunrise:::  
----------------------------------

"We are ready, Elder Cain." Warriv said curtly, slightly out of breath from his jog across what was left of the encampment.

"Good. We must leave immedietly" Cain rubbed his eyes before surveying the gathering wagons.

"Forgive me for asking, Elder Cain." Warriv started to move alongside the old man as he moved toward the lead wagon. "But, why are we leaving the encampment. We have defense, and everything else that we need right here."

"Because..." Cain started softly, not wishing to alarm the wagon master, but also not ready to lie to him either. "If I am any judge of demonic hcharacter, the first thing that Andariel is going to do if she is threatened willl be to search us out. And if the others fail, if won't matter where we are, Will all be destroyed just the same."

Warriv, even hardened as he was by running his caravan for years though bandit and monster controlled territories, shivered in understanding.

If the Adventurer's succeeded in defeating Andariel (and in his own opinion, that was one hell of a big 'IF') Then they would be free to go though the Rogue's Pass and onward though the deserts to Lut Golien.  
If they failed, then every man and woman in the caravan was already dead anyways... so there would be no point in running away.  
------------------------------------  
:::Nightfall- Two days later:::  
-------------------------------------

"The cavern is clear, Battle-Eagle."

It took several moments for Kashya to fully comprehend and put meaning to the scouts words.

"Yes.. Yes... thank you Malandra." The battle eagle rubbed her weary eyes. "Send word to Warriv that we are ready to continue on... we have to get the caravan into the cave before and have everthing prepared before dawn."

Even though her thinking was clouded by lack of sleep and mind-bending stress, Kashya still managed to keep an even tone of authority in her voice. Malandra nodded and moved off to carry out her orders. The last two days of travel across the blood moors, followed by the stoney fields, and then though the rocky path though the low mountians and into the black marsh had been quick, but also exhausting. The Caravan moved with remarkable and skilled speed, halting only when it had come under attack by the wandering monsters and corrupted sisters that still dotted the land. Now, they had finally come back to the Tamoe Highlands. The home of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye and the bastion of their glorious monestary.

'Our 'Former' glorious monestary.' Kashya thought bitterly. Even from this distance, more than three hours hike from the outer monestary gates, she and her rogue warriors were coming to realize the painful and obvious truth. That this place was no longer their home... and would likely never be truely theirs again.  
The attacks on the Caravan that she had sworn she would protect had been (thankfully) few. And with the help of the surprisingly capable adventuring party that had accepted the suicide mission into the bowls of The Rou.... of Andariel's Monestary..., her forces had only suffered three mild injuries as opposed to the expected high fatalities.

Kashya walked alongside one of the moving wagons, her focus blurring as her tired mind wandered off to other things. The Strange Troup, which was now composed of eight very unique, supposedly uncompatible warriors.

Mundane Assassin and mystical Sorceress... Holy Paladin and Cynical Necromancer... Greedy Amazon to Altuistic Barbarian. Even the usually Naturalistic Druid functioned in this group, each playing off of another's strength with almost empathic effiecency. And the half-breed demon had come in quite handy, acting as an advanced scout for the caravan (at Deckard Cain's bequest) and leading them around what he discribed as 'Former hubs of monsters.'  
A sudden image came to the front of her mind: The black, four legged, wolf-sized reptile that she had spoken to in Akara's tent running rampent in the fields, it's long claws and wicked tail eviserating everything that came within reach.  
Judging by the rate at which the Half-Breed requested the blue vials of concentrated mana... he was not staying in his false human disguise any more than absolutly nessessary.

Looking up from her thoughts, Kashya realized that they had arrived as the first of the

Wagon Train crossed into the mouth of the Storm-Shelter Cavern that they had sought. Here, the Rouges would spend the night, make their final preparations, and get some rest before the morning.

Tomorrow... Kashya would order many of them to their certain doom.  
---------------------------------------------------

"It's so quiet, Master Cain." Natalie looked out onto the Tamoe Highlands, admiring the beauty of the land while it basked in the light of the cresent moon.

"It often is before the storm." Cain pointed out, "And you can trust me on this. A storm is coming. Tomorrow, perhaps by mid-morning, Thunder and Rain will fill the air. And, with any luck, wash the blood of the demons away."

"You can predict the weather, Master Cain?" Natalie asked.

"No, but Durom can, and that's what he said."

Natalie Tasslewind held back a laugh. This had been the first time she had gotten to spend alone with the Horadric Sage since his rescue. And, though they had only begun to speak to one another as equals as opposed to a commander to a soldier, she had quickly decided that she liked the Elderly Sage.

"Cain.... I have a question." Natalie came forward.

"And I may have an answer for you."

"How well do you know Elric?" The sorceress asked, "I mean... When did he come to Tristram? Why? What was he...."

"Natalie..." Cain cut the sorceress off. "I can not read your brother's mind. And Honestly, there is not a great deal that I can tell you about his time in Tristram. Not yet at any rate."

"Why not?"

"Because you can not appreciate it yet. When you can, then I will tell you all that I know." The sage started to walk back into the cave where a fire and a blanket awaited him. then stopped after a few steps.

"One thing though...." He said. "Are you familiar with the term: 'Darbash Narcoal'?

"No." Natalie said after a moment of thought.

"It is what the creaturesbeneith Tristram came to call Elric." Cain explained. "It means: 'Black Death'. And keep this in mind... The name 'Death' is only given to the darkest,most powerful, and most sinister of Hell's minions."

With that, Deckard Cain walked back into the cave, leaving Natalie alone at the mouth, looking out on the Tamoe Highlands.

Suddenly, this place didn't seem so peaceful to her anymore.  
-----------------------------------------

"May I sit with you?"

Raid looked up from the gold coins that she had just finished stacking and counting for the hundreth time since the rescue of Deckard Cain to see Preen, standing before her with the fire light glimmering off of his newly polished armor.

The Amazon's eyes narrowed for a moment. The paladin had said little in the past couple of days while they travled though the Rogue lands and, though Raid had been thankful for the respite in Preen's constant holy babble, she felt that something was consuming his thoughts.

And she would have been willing to bet every piece of gold in front of her that she knew the cause.

"Yeah.. but if you make so much as one reference to Zakarum or the Prophecies of Akarat, I'll shove your head into the fire."

Preen nodded solumly, his face void of emotion as he sat down beside the blond warrior and looked into the small, cozy fire... one of dozens that had been lit inside the cavern for the night to keep the shadows and chill at bay.

At first, Preen had been worried that the fires would attact the attention of monsters. But, Natalie had put his worries to rest when she explained that Deckard Cain and High Priestess Akara would be erecting a thin, mirror-like aura at the mouth of the cave that would keep the light in and reflect the outside darkness, creating the illusion of a dark, empty cave.

"A copper for your thoughts." The Paladin offered after a moment of silence, trying his best to start up the conversation that he wanted to have.

"Don't offer unless you are willing to pay." Raid's eyes darted over, giving Preen a sly look as she held out her hand, waiting for the token.

Preen stifled a small chuckle as he reached into a pouch at his side and pulled a small copper coin of little value, placing it in Raid's outstretched hand with a florish.

"It's all moving so fast..." Raid said, the sly fire fading from her eyes as she closed her hand around the copper coin. "One day we're just free-lancing adventuerers, out trying to make a living in a harsh world. And then the next, there is an encampment filled with people who look at you like you're some sort of Maddened Savior"  
Raid looked down at the coins piled before her, taking little real comfort in the gleaming luster they produced when the fire struck them.

Strange... Gold had always made her forget her worries before... why not now?

"Six months ago, I would have jumped at a chance like this... to be going on a mission to save the world."

"And now?" Preen asked, fully intent on the Amazon.

"Now...now I'm not sure what I'm doing out here." Raid admitted. "It sounded like...and I can't believe I'm saying this... Like Fun when we were sitting at the encampment. We were planning to save the world... Kill a godess. And I thought that it would make a glorious story. "

"Perhaps..." Preen started.

"But..." Raid searched for the right words. "I've been here before, Preen. I never told you this... but I was at The Monastery when it fell. I was there, fighting with the sisters when Andarial forced them to flee. And I fled with them... awestruck by the power of the Demon Queen. If I fled then... Who is to say that I won't do so again when faced with that power?"

Preen looked at the Amazon. He had seen her angry one moment, and then delightfully cheerful the next. He had seen her carefree and then suddenly consumed by bloodlust. But this was something that he had never seen on Raid's beautiful face or in her body language. Dismay... a feeling of hopelessness.

"Well," Preen leaned back slightly. "If you were apart of my former party, I belive that my superior, Lord Dainkar, would berate you for your lack of faith. But, I suppose that not everyone can live on faith alone."

The even-ness of his tone came as a complete shock to Raid, who had expected a long-winded speech about how the power of the holy light and Faith in the forces of the High Heavens would see her though if only she belived.

"I think that... tonight, we are all afraid, Raid." Preen continued. "Afraid of the battles ahead... of having death so close. Just afraid of tomorrow in general. It's nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, I would be worried if we weren't afraid. It means that we are indeed, human."

Raid thought for a moment on the philosophy and smiled slightly in approval.

The two sat for a few moments more in front of the fire before Raid popped up a hand, sending the small copper coin up in the air to land on Preen's lap.

"How about you?" She asked coyly, feeling a bit better now.

Preen sighed, picking the copper coin back up and replacing it into his pouch.

"I don't know what to do." Preen said simply. "I have soul searched and prayed. I have waited an hoped for guildance. But nothing comes. I have had no vision... no revelation..."

Preen paused for a moment, picking up a twig from the cold, hard cavern floor and tossing it into the fire. "Under any other circumstances, I would seek the guidance of a priest or one of my superiors in the Order of the Word. But..." Preen trailed off.

"There are none in this land." Raid finished the thought for him.

"Not since before the affliction of Tristram. The last of the Order, The Arch-Bishop Lazarus, was slain beneith the Catacombes of Tristram whilst aiding the Lord of Terror. Lord Dainkar had convinced the new Que-Hagan Sankekur that a Zakarum presence in the Western Kingdom was sorely needed. So he chose six initiate knights, myself included, to join him. One of our number fell in the Aranoch Desert from some sort of strange poison. When we first came to the Rogue's Monastery, we were rushed though the gates as though we were unwelcome.

At the time, Lord Dainkar railed that there would be a price for the impertence of 'the stray women'. Even now, I wonder if his rant had anything to do with Andariel's attack a week later."

"Oh, come off it." Raid assured the paladin. "How could one of your commanders have known about Andariel's plot? Or about Diablo?"

"I know,it's silly, but still." Preen's face turned to a puzzled look. "But, even through the months that it took for us to get from Kurast to the Rogue's Pass,Lord Dainkar never really told any of us what our purpose in the Western Kingdom was. Never once did say where we were going or what we were to do when we arrived. And then..."

Preen shook his head.

"One night, we had made camp. I had just come off of watch duty and was lying in my tent when I heard Lord Dainkar's deathcry. A foul monstrosity had slipped into camp and killed three of my companions, along wth Lord Dainkar by the time I had arrived. It moved like nothing that I had ever seen before and when I arrived, I came just in time to watch the creature behead Dronost with it's sword-like tail. The finest swordsman of my generation... dead at the hands of some beast on the Blood Moor."

Raid watched Preen as he seemed to fight back tears, attempting to keep his appearance as a soldier while at the same time, relaying his story to the Amazonian. "And, to make matters worse, the creature didn't even seem to take me seriously. when I attacked, it merely sidestepped me. And when I dove at it again, it took advantage of my anger and struck me down with the flat of it's tail. The fact that I awoke at all was a miracle. But I lived for what? I did not know what I was to do. What purpose did I have? None."  
Preen rubbed his eyes. "the only thing I could do was attempt to be the finest knight I could in the land where I found myself. After all, the only thing I had left was my skill and my honor."

"Perhaps.. Tomorrow," Raid started, hoping to comfort her companion. "...you can prove that you have become the finest sort of knight."

"Fighting alongside a demon?" Preen asked sourly.

"Not a demon, Preen." Raid tried to explain. "Elric is not some monster. He is not some troll under a bridge. He is a skilled individual with a vast knowledge of how the creatures you battle think. You have got to stop thinking of him as 'A Demon' and start thinking of him as 'An Asset'."

Preen was suprised by the word that Raid had used.

"An Asset? How do you figure?"

"Well, Preen, think about it." Raid said knowingly, "It was once said that the deepest evil often comes from the greatest good. The Arch-Bishop Lazarus being a perfect example. So, why can't it work the other way around?"

Preen thought about that for a moment.  
Shedefinatlyhad a good point.

Elric may have been born as a half-demon... but that was not to say that he lived as one.

After all, Redemption was a right that every living, thinking creature had. Perhaps Cathim had been right. Perhaps there was more to this than Good Vs. Evil after all.  
---------------------------------------------------

Unknown to the Amazon or the Paladin, only a scant twenty feet away from them, laying under a thick wool blanket, that very half-demon, Elric Tasslewind, cursed under his breath.

He had not been able to sleep like his sister, Tozam, and the others had. His thoughts had rushed to the morning. To battle-plans and tactics. He had imagined what sort of reaction the creatures in the monastery would have to his presence.

His demonic mind called out for blood while his more rational human side had advised he rest.

So he had layed down here, tried to sleep, but could not keep his excited thoughts from wandering. But then he had heared Preen speak, perhaps for the first time since the War Council that had been held in the Rogue Encampment over two days before.

He had listened to Raid with a sympathetic ear and, had he been privied to the coversation, would have gladly attempted to comfort her much as Preen had successfully done.

But Preen's story had struck a nerve... and it had struck it hard.

Elric had realized the moment that he had met the paladin, that there had been something familiar about him. Not his face... no, he had never seen his face before. But that scent. That pungent clean aroma, akin to spiced apple and brown sugar.  
At the time, he had dismissed it as a mistake and had dismissed the feeling only a short while after.

Now he really wished that he hadn't, because he could now place the scent and the circumstances of where he had smelt it before.

An armored knight on the Blood Moor, his face hidden behind one of those ridiculously impractical helmets that covered everything except the eyes.

As it turned out, Elric HAD met Preen before.  
In fact, he had killed the Paladin's entire company only a few days before he met up with Natalie.

------------------------------------------------  
:::Dawn:::  
------------------------------------------------

"I hate this world" Gambring, an abomination in the service of the maiden of Anguish, complained in the gutteral language of lower demons as he made his rounds atop the Mistress's human made stronghold.

"It is boring here.. the huw-women put up so little fight and died so quick. No new blood, nofresh meat.. Nothing but Scummy guard duty... To medial even for Fallen ones."

"Shut yer Hole, Cretin!" Another, more powerful yet nameless abomination growled. "We serve the Maiden of Anguish, you have no choice in station."

"Of station I have no complaints." Gambring replyed violently, spittle dribbling over the coarse black fur under his chin. "This lack of war... Hunger...No battle... Tears at me... It gnaws at me like Defilers.."

"You and every one of your kind..." The Larger, nameless Abomination who had been given the title of Commanding Tyrant snarled, snapping out a wicked claw and cutting into his brethren's shoulder. "If it is battle you wish.." The larger, slightly green Abomination reared up on it's haunches, more than doubling it's height and puffing up threateningly. "Then let it be joined... I could use meat!"

Knowing that he was no match for the larger, more elite of his kind, Gambring backed down and braced for the backhanded blow that he knew was to come from cowering away from the fight, the small abomination was surprised when the strike never came. Cautiously, Gambring opened his eyes, more than a bit shocked when he realized that his nameless superior had himself been struck down. A freshly made arrow shaft protruding from the large abomination's throat, one of the few spots not protected by the otherwise all encompassing iron-like hide.

Gambring grinned wickedly as he howled into the early light of the coming morning and stamped his large, furry, clawed foot down on the nameless superior's skull and caved it in. Now, Gambring had claimed command of the Maiden's defense.

"ATTACK!!" Gamgring gargled out in the tongue of the lower demons that would now fear him as a supreme tyrant. "Slay the woe-mans till none live! ALL TO THE GATE!"

Gambring couldn't belive his luck as he looked up, noting the vollys of arrows that flew over his head. By pure luck, he had been standing behind a jutting portion of the wall and was all but invisible to the foolish mortals that attacked from below. He would have to be sure to bring tribute to his Maiden Goddess in return for this fortune.  
Two live rogues would be a fine prize for the demon queen.  
---------------------------------------

"Battle-Eagle!" Flavie, Kashya's last remaining officer cried out over the din of the creatures that filed out of the twisted oak and iron doors of the Monastery.  
"WE CAN REMAIN NO LONGER! WE MUST RETREAT!"

Kashya ducked out of her cover, a small boulder that she had once played on as a child, and fired three rapid shots into the flood of demons, fallen, and corrupted sisters that had come together, forming a single wave of bloodlust that overwhelmed any rogue archer that they found, tearing them to shreds in moments.

Ducking back, Kashya looked over to her side. Out of the sixty-eight rogues that had come on this mission, it was safe to assume that only the twelve that were with the Battle-Eagle behind this boulder had managed to evade the rampaging creatures.  
Most of them were wounded, some carrying scars from near-fatal encounters with former comrades while others tried to ignore burns from both the Fallen Shaman's fire and the lightning that flew from the mouths of these new, shaggy, hunch-backed monstrosities. Even Flavie, who was the best melee fighter that Kashya had under her command, had a large gash in her forehead from a Fallen's claw.

"Fall back..." Kashya uttered weakly, wondering if any of the rogues (Including herself) would survive this suicidal mission. "Do everything you can to avoid being found or followed."

"Battle-Eagle..." Flavie started, dried blood crusted over one eye. "How can those fools have any chance against these odds?"

Kashya shook her head sadly. "They don't..." She replied, knowing that the end was coming for them all. "Get our troops out of here and advise them to make their peace with the Sightless Eye... We may be standing before it soon."

With that, little more than a dozen rogues, all that survived of a sisterhood that only a few months before numbered in the thousands, fled before the chaotic wave of maddened demons, heartless monsters, and their own crazed sisters.

Kashya damned them.. and herself... for expecting anything but a complete, crushing defeat.  
In the end, there was no victory against such reckless hatered. There was no way to resist such might.  
'It was an honor to know you all.' Kashya though, throwing one last, longing glance up to the monastery. 'May you die with honor.'

With that, Kashya turned her back to the Citadel that had always been her home. Her spirit failing at last as she realized that there was no hope after all.  
----------------------------------------

Something was wrong.  
Andariel felt in in the pit of her human host's stomach.

The Rogues had somehow managed to evade her patrolling convert mortals and stage an attack on her newly claimed fortress. While the attempted seige was laughable and it seemed that the foolish humans had been driven back into their holes like rats waiting for death to come, something nagged at the Maiden of Anguish.

She had lived since the beginning of known time. For eons uncounted, she had commanded her legions and often fought on the front lines of The Great Conflict. She understood battlefield stratigems and had concocted more than her fair share of manuvers and seiges.

This foolharty human assualt was easily pushed back. The humans eraticated or running for their lives. In less than a quarter of an hour, what was likely the last of the human military strength for many leagues around was destroyed.

Still, the Maiden of Anguish... Maven of Poison....The Bitch-Queen of the First Level of Hell, was worried.  
It had been an easy victory.

And Andariel knew that easy victories were often a precursor to a trap.  
-----------------------------  
Fifteen minutes had passed since the new Commanding Tyrant, Gambring, had called all claws and blades from the Outer Cloister to the gate to repel the meager attack on the walls of Andariel's Monastery. Now, the Colister, a now lifeless garden filled with thorns, dead roses, and broken statues of once glorious Rogue heroes, there was a single flat stone, laying untouched by the occupying armies of demons.

All was silent, and only the howl of the creatures that had been called to battle could be heard in the distance, when a ring of pure blue fire exploded into existance.  
First, the Barbarian Warrior Tozam charged out, his face grim and his body protected by a shirt of powerful steel rings.  
He swirved his head about, looking for any enemies that would have to be silence before the others would have to come though. Satisfied that the area was reasonably secure, Tozam did as they had planned and threw a small pebble at the portal.  
It would never make it though of course. Tozam had been led to belive that the Portals were one way only. But the ring flared for a moment as the Portal disintigrated the stone and flared on both sides.

A second later, Raid came though, a newly crafted composite bow at the ready and a gold-laced leather armor against her skin. Tozam wondered for a moment how practical the armor was, but said nothing. This was far too great a task to waste any time with thoughts of fashion.

Preen and Natalie were next. Preen had refused any of the equipment that was offered, but had learned a valuable lession in Tristram and had his belt crammed full of healing and stamina replinishing potions. Natalie, in true Zann'Esu form, refused material armor, instead draping herself within an invisible shell of frost and ice. Her staff, this time reinforced with steel to prevent it from shattering easily, was held in tightly in her hands while a pair of thick leather gloves, enchanted to increase her strength should the situation call for it, twisted against the oak and steel of the battle-stave.

Cathim and Durom followed close behind. The Druid looked no different, wearing his usual leather and hide armor while weilding his precious Dreth'leth Spear. The only difference that the Barbarian could tell was the pair of rings, one on each hand, that Durom had quickly snatched up three days before when they had left the Encampment.

Cathim had managed to find a new wand after all and, with help from Deckard Cain, had found it's name was 'Bone-Master'. Exactly what it did was a mistery to Tozam, but judging from the fact that Cathim kept the new wand in his belt while his other wand (Which he had re-named- Tooth-Spitter) was in his hand and ready for battle.

Kassyera the Assassin came next. Her new claws (which Tozam belived she had made herself with six daggers, some leather, and a bit of iron wire) were in her hands and deadly as anything she had wielded before. Her legs and arms, which had once been unprotected and bare, were now covered in an oily, smooth looking black leather that Tozam had never seen before. Where she had gotten those from was a mystery, but at least she had shared with her new comrades the extent of some of the ingenious traps that she kept in her belt.

Last though the Portal was the tan-skinned Elric, his black tunic and trousers seeming to be the only thing between his meager seeming frame and the weapons of an army of demons. Still, even Preen had come to realize that this seeming child was far...far more than any of them could understand with a mere glance.  
With a slight Florish, Elric flicked his wrist and the glowing blue pool of flames vanished behind him.

Eight warriors now stood in the center of hostile ground. Right in the maw of the beast.  
And, if Elric was right about the Bitch-Queen Andariel sensing their entrance, they would not have any chance to escape until their task was done.

"We're in..." Elric said slowly, his voice not betraying his emotions, but his bright green eyes shining with excitement. "Lets get to work."

(To be continued)  
---------------------------------------  
Post.

Well, here we are, many weeks past what I said the posting of the next chapter would be. But, rest assured for all of you peoples that have been waiting, there is a perfectly good explaination.

You see….  
It all started about the time that I posted the last chapter. At the time, I was expecting several very important video game releases including Halo 2 and the long awaited title by Blizzard Entertainment: World of Warcraft.  
Need I say more….. Yes I need.

Following a full week of exploration of Halo 2 (Oh, and cutting my college career short on account of the Evils of Calculus) I finally beat the first person shooter and prepared to post the next chapter of Diablo Online.  
It was about this time that my internet connection was fried by forces beyond my control.(STUPID ELRIC!!!) And it was not until three days later that I was able to get back online. Thankfully, I ended up getting a wireless Router which allowed me to get online from any place in the house Via Updated Wireless Modem Laptop. Something that would come in handy later.  
Then, much to my own dismay as I re-read the chapter, I realized that the first version required rewriting due to the fact that I divulged too much history on my favorite Character: Elric.

Elric: "Thank you, Robin."  
Robin: "Shut Up, Elric. We are not having a moment."

The very next day after I got Diablo finished and ready to post online: It was too late. World of Warcraft launched on Nov. 23rd and sold out across the United States in record shattering numbers: making it the largest opening day release of all PC gaming history. (Yes. Even bigger than the foul Everquest could ever hope)  
Life was sweet. I had The World of Warcraft Collector's Edition in my hand and ready to play the game that I had longed to play for over three years.

That's when the nuke hit my house.

I somehow survived the holocaust that decimated the countryside and reduced the red-neck population of my hometown to zero.  
All and all, a pretty good cosmetic improvement.

Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me, the nuke was directed at a top secret underground facility that harbored a deadly radioactive bacteria for study. Of course, and with my luck it just had to happen, The EMP pulse from the nuclear explosion cause the fail-safe to fail (as they always do) and it released the radioactive bacteria to infect all the dead red-necks. And then twelve hours later, the red-necks rose from the grave hungering for human flesh and NASCAR results.  
Myself, an Air Force Engineer, A surviving police officer, a pretty red-headed woman named Tess, and a stalwart housewife managed to keep the radioactive flesh eating zombies at bay with only our wits, four shot-guns, a mini-van, an elongated carrot, and an inexplicable knowledge of battle-field tactics and agricultural science.

Everything was looking good.  
And that's when the meteor hit.

Of course, I can't die until I get a few books published, so I once again managed to survive, found a Wi-Fi point, and accessed the internet with my laptop to take my mind off of the horrors of the Holocaust War of the Mutant Red-Neck Zombies by playing seven straight days of World of Warcraft.

Then, finally free of all worldly worries while I sat in the burnt out wasteland that was once my home, I came to and remembered that my fans needed me to come back and post the long overdue chapter of Diablo.

Cathim: Wait…. What happened to the zombies?

Robin: The Meteor killed them.

Tozam: Then what about the Bacteria?

Robin: It was wiped out by alien bacteria that was brought by the meteor in a massive bacteria on bacteria war… very Ironic.

Natalie: Okayyyy…. Then why haven't we all been infected with the alien bacteria?

Robin: Because it only infects other bacteria. Gawd… PAY ATTENTION!

(Elric, Natalie, Tozam, and Cathim all stare blankly at Robin)

Elric: Robin, you are lying though your teeth. I think you just quoted every crappy apocalypse movie you could think of so that your fans wouldn't fry you for being late.

Robin: No I didn't! I RESENT THAT!…. I only quoted the unrealistic ones.

Natalie: Nah,…. Hollywood doesn't understand apocalypse. They seem to think that if one little thing goes away, the entire modern world falls apart.

Cathim: Yeah. Like in "Road Warrior' it was Gas and in 'Water World' It was land.

Tozam: What went away in 'The Matrix?

Cathim: Sunlight.

Elric: I thought the missing element was plot.

Cathim: I'm talking about Matrix One, Dumb demon.

(The Preceding sehgment was generously inspired(and/or stolen from) the talented writer of A very good website that, if you are not already familiar with it, should be your very next stop on the world wide web.)

Well, I am back. The Halo addiction is over and, while the World of Warcraft addiction lingers, it is manageable. And, since I don't have to worry about college anymore, you can expect to see more of me. Also, I have just started up another daiblo fic: 'Robin's Bloopers and Gag reel', which shows the funny skits and bloopers starring your favorite Diablo Fiction Charcters both in and out of the world of Sanctuary. As a result: The Robin Shirewood Interviews will be moved to the Blooper Reel fic. If you want a laugh, go there. For just the story, come to Diablo: The Epic Behind the Game.

Next Week: (And I promise to have it up next week, cross my heart and hope to be impaled on a thousand spikes while weasels nip at my toes and I am forced to listen to a medley of Britney Spears/ N'Sync/ Backstreet Boys/ Little Romeo songs all played at maximum volume and slightly altered to make them all sound like the Chipmunks.)

The Time has come at last. The first of many great battles is joined.  
The time has come to take the battle to Andariel.

Well, see you Friday everybody. And if I don't come… Feel free to spam away and overload my E-mail box with spamming reviews. Everybody except Foo… who I hope to have a moderator delete your very very annoying spam reviews… Never…EVER EVER do that again (Holds up Ion Cannon)

And do I have to say it? Of course I have to say it.... R&R people.. no more spam unless I'm late... but I love critizim and it makes me feel like I have something to live for aside from reaching level 60 in World Of Warcraft. The more reviews I get, the more people I think are gonna kill me if I don't update, and the faster I type.  
Thank you everyone... GOODNIGHT!

-Signing off: Robin (Mega-Fan of the Blue Army's -1 soldier: Caboose from )

Caboose Quote: (Standing in a field of dead red and blue Spartans from Halo) "Look… More sleeping people. It… Must… Be… Naptime. But who has naptime now? Naptime comes BEFORE Pants time… not after. I think these people are just making up times. (Episode 39 Red vs. Blue: The Blood Gultch cronicles.)


	17. Chapter 16: Andariel

Diablo II: The Epic Behind the Game

Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo II, I, or anything else that blizzard created. In fact, some of my dialog comes directly from the game, for accuracy purposes only. The Characters however are of my own design, directly from my chars on light of several reviews, and the fact that I now have more free time, I just want to announce to everybody who used to love me before I disappeared that I, Robin Shirewood, am back… and I have a fancy new title to add to my name… Lieutenant Robin Shirewood of the United States Air Force.

Hey… what can I say, I was tired of working in small town America…so I moved up. And now that I am though basic training and my commission as an officer is complete, I have time to sit back and do the things I love: Play games (both video and Table top) and write to gain the love of everybody who now hates me for disappearing.

STAND BY FOR ACTION!

Now, for your pleasure, I present the conclusion of the first Act of Diablo II: The Epic Behind the Game.

Warning: Violent/Mature content within this chapter. Reader discretion is advised. In fact...due to some of the more...gory parts of this fic (and chapters to come) I am raising the rating of Epic to the R movie standard just so that can't come in and say that I am advertising it as being too low.

Former Rogue Monastery

-------------------------------------------------

The small black fallen, one of the elite of his kind that called himself a Dark One, swerved it's head back and forth as it patrolled the halls of the Barracks. Many of the army had been called out when the Commander Tyrant had sounded the alarm. But he, like so many other unlucky brethren, was ordered to keep to their watch duties.

The walls and floors were still caked in long dried, pungent blood from the first battle; the bodies had long been taken away as either trophies, playthings, or snacks by the occupying demons. But, at least the remaining blood covered up the foul architecture of this crude mortal fort and gave it a comforting feel of home.

Now if only there was something within the Maiden's Fortress to watch.

The Maiden of Anguish had been uncharacteristically jumpy lately. According to rumor, the Goddess Andariel had already sent a large portion of her standing forces out into the wilderness to patrol and find the huw-women in their hiding places, then dispose of the minor threat.

Some of his brothers, though none would admit it unless under torture, were beginning to suspect that the Demon Queen was afraid of something. But, saying such things were the equivalent to impaling one's self, since that was the punishment for blasphemy.

No, the Demon Queen feared nothing except the Greater Evils. And perhaps it was the thought of failing Terror and losing her newly regained favor with the Lord of Hell, that put her on edge.

The Dark One shook his head.

All this thinking hurt his brain.

Satisfied that nothing would dare intrude this far into the Fortress without being eaten by the Abominations that the Demon Queen had put at the gate's defense, the Dark One turned around and was about to run back to his tribe's shaman to tell him that there was no change.

Then, there was a flash of movement as the Fallen one suddenly found that his eyes were falling away from each other.

Without ever knowing what had happened, the smaller demon's head was neatly cloven in two and crumpled to the floor, and splattering of brain matter and blackish red blood painted the dry blood on the walls.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"By the Ancients…" Tozam uttered as he mopped up the gray matter on his Blood Letter sword and looked down at the black Fallen's body. "I didn't think the beast's head would explode."

"Nice going 'Muscles', now there's a pool of fresh blood to for our enemies to find" Kassyera berated the Barbarian, her voice little more than a whisper. "You might as well have written ' Humans went this way' on the wall!"

"Enough!" Preen interjected firmly. Perhaps putting the Barbarian at point as they dove deeper into the Rogue's Barracks was not such a great idea. Natalie and Cathim had hoped that the warrior's larger size, Kassyera's stealthy movements, and Preen's skill in Melee would give them a chance to survive while the two magic users and druid in the middle of the party came up behind him and use their spells to clean up anything out of reach. That way, no matter how they were attacked, the magic users would have a chance to strike before they could be overwhelmed.

At the end of the small train was Elric, who was still unarmed, and Raid, who had volunteered to watch the rear and make sure that they were not attacked from behind.

"I was just trying to jar it, I thought it would be a tougher target." Tozam complained, quickly heaving the body up and throwing it to the side behind a shattered barricade left behind from the Andariel's first siege

"How could you jar it with the sharp edge of your sword?" Cathim shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to quell the headache that he had been suffering since first meeting the barbarian.

"It doesn't matter." Kassyera put a stop to the argument quickly. "Let's move on, the way down into the Jail should be though this passage and to the right."

Kassyera, who had spent her time finding information on the structure of the Monastery itself, was the most qualified to guild them though the twisting, blood encrusted hallways.

"We shouldn't be staying together like this." Elric again stated his own opinion on the group that had been winding though the halls of the Barracks for the last quarter of an hour. "We need to split up. That way, we aren't all in the same place and it will be more difficult to trap us. We haven't been seen by anything smart or fast enough to raise an alarm yet, but that kind of luck isn't going to keep."

"Elric… You just want to go off on your own again." Natalie stated, her eyes darting around as adrenaline pumped though her body. Unlike Tozam and Preen, who had been raised and trained to control the excitement that came with battle-high, Natalie felt that she might not be able to manage this level of stress for very long without exhausting herself.

"Don't think I haven't realized that every time there is trouble of some sort, you end up disappearing."

"Only because I have to." Elric said smoothly, trying to inject a tone of innocence in his voice and failing miserably.

"I think not, little brother." The sorceress turned to the half-demon while the group paused for the moment of respite. "If we are together, we will have a better chance of beating whatever we come to face in this dungeon. Splitting up would be suicide."

"For you maybe…" Elric mumbled under his breath. He was beginning to take a dislike to this whole 'Group' experience.

Sure, they were all skilled at what they did, but they were slowing him down.

"I don't know, Natalie…" Tozam's voice came as a surprise to everyone. " Such tight quarters…. It will be difficult to hold the passageways off against any sort of attack. Every turn could lead to an ambush and with every step, we could be moving closer to a hoard not unlike the one that we faced at Tristram."

"We were lucky to escape that time." Durom added in a solid, down to earth tone. "Split up… put together… either way we would all die."

"Well, aren't you just a little ray of sunshine." Raid shook her head, straining her ears for any sound that might resemble that of an enclosing demon warrior.

"We're lingering for too long…" Elric started softly; trying to get the others attention before their conversation could erupt into a full-scale argument.

"This sort of blind intrusion is doomed from the beginning…" The druid continued. "It is ill planned, ill conceived…"

"Keep talking like that and you're gonna make ME ill. In case you haven't noticed, this is the only chance that we have!" Raid started back, her voice rising slightly.

"Guysss…" Elric hissed lightly.

Did these morons forget where they were? What they were trying to do?

His demonic side flared up for a moment, angry that the Druid and Amazon could be spoiling their plans.

"Nobody MADE you come along, Druid!"

"Actually, 'Amazon', they did. I had and still have no reason to be here. And had Elder Cain not been so insistent…"

"BOTH OF YOU! SHUT IT! "

The moment the half-demon had spoken out, he realized that it was far too loudly.

All eyes turned to Elric, whose rash, almost animalistic voice echoed down the halls and into the distance.

"Smooth halfie." Preen said flatly, "Real smooth."

Elric was about to reply when he heard the sudden pounding of many small, clawed feet against stone.

"Oh….hell…" Elric shuttered at the realization that the footsteps came from both in front of and behind them. "We have company!"

---------------------------

Puke-Rag, shaman Chief of the Black Bladed Clan, the elite of the Dark Ones, could not believe his luck as he ran down the blood stained corridor, his smaller minions dashing before him.

The great Mistress had suspected that there might have been a more to the mortal women's attack than brash human foolishness. But to think that a group of them had actually managed to find their way into the barracks was beyond anything that the shaman could have imagined…

Or hoped for.

Now, it would be he… 'Puke-Rag The Witless'…He without mercy or tolerance….'HE' would bring the heads of these stupid humans to the Mistress. And she would be pleased with him.

What power might he gain from the increased favor of the Maiden of Anguish? Perhaps she would come to realize that which the other lords of Hell failed to see. That the Fallen, most specifically his own kind- 'the Dark One's' were far more than mere cannon fodder. That they were…in large numbers…the superior to all but the Lords of Hell and their generals.

And then, Puke-Rag would take his rightful place at the right hand of his great and powerful queen.

Yes, that is what would come when he presented the heads of these upstarts to his master.

Coming out of his daydream, Puke-Rag turned the corner, listening to the sounds of glorious battle. Metal upon metal, as weapons clashed.

When he turned the corner and saw the battle with his own eyes, the dreams of his victory faded to obscurity.

It had just become a nightmare.

------------------------------------

"MOVE FASTER!" Preen shouted out, artfully bringing his blade up though the badly protected torso of one black skinned fallen and spinning it about to cleanly slice though another short monster's neck. "THEY'RE ON US!"

"I'M TRYING!" Tozam brought the weight of one blade down on one of the many beasts attempting to swarm over him, crushing the little creature's bones. His other blade worked in a frenzy, hacking away at the small black tide that threatened to consume them all.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Kassyera had taken a step back, readying one of the many traps on her belt and, rearing arm back, lobbed a bronze disk down past the two fighting warriors.

Cathim dodged slightly to the side when the assassin stepped back, swinging his wand back and forth as fast as he could to keep the bone-propelling magic picking off whatever creatures made it past the death dealing barbarian and paladin to keep them from reaching the others, who already had their hands quite full.

As they had all planned out long before they had come to the actual Monastery, Durom took it on himself to safeguard Natalie while the sorceress took careful stock of the situation, blasting any creatures that seemed more dangerous or formidable than the others and was now trying as hard as she could to keep the damnable shamans of the black skinned fallen dead. A daunting task, as one with a slightly greenish tint to it's skin stayed well behind a legion of the darker mini-demons, using it's own power to bring the more dangerous Shaman's back from the dead.

This was very frustrating for the sorceress. She knew, as did the others that the much taller Shaman of the Fallen Ones were capable of bringing the midget warriors back from the dead so long as their bodies were whole, but never before had she seen the larger shaman's rising again.

The Fallen with the greenish skin must have had a far more potent power than any of them had expected from these meager creatures.

Risking a momentary glance back, Natalie was almost tempted to ask Raid for her aid against the unexpected adversary, but quickly gave that idea up.

Raid and Elric already had their hands full.

As Tozam had predicted, the creatures had quickly come around the intersecting hallways and flanked them with ease. And from what Natalie could tell, the shaman's had been smart enough to send the bulk of their forces around to attack the back while they continuously resurrected and healed the ones that Preen and Tozam killed.

Raid moved as quickly as she could pulling, notching, and then firing the arrows with a trained, fluid movement.

The good news was that she didn't have to waste precious time aiming.

The bad news was that the reason that she didn't have to waste time aiming was because the hall behind them was packed with the black Fallen Ones.

And only a few paces in front of her was Elric who, despite the obvious handicap of being unarmed, did what he could to keep the advancing hoard at bay. Natalie only had a moment to admire the half-demon's strength and speed (and watch her brother smash one of the unlucky creature's skull against the wall) when a thought crossed her mind.

Why was Elric still posing as a human?

Hearing an explosion brought the sorceress back to reality and made her turn back to her own front while waves of fire erupted from the assassin's bronze disk. Heat washed over them all as a backlash forced it's way though the air, carrying the smell of charred flesh and hair back to the human defenders.

Natalie hated to admit it, but it looked as if the assassin's crude traps might have saved them all.

"Oh…DAMNIT!" Natalie heard Elric cry out.

And then… All hell broke loose.

-------------------------------------

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Kassyera shouted.

But Elric paid little attention.

The Fallen that came up behind this horribly mismatched and strategically doomed group had the normally efficient killing machine at an emotional disadvantage. While his current, frail human shell was handling quite well under the pressure of battle, he still wanted nothing more than to tear out of this shell, clear a bloody path though the wanna-be monsters and move on to bigger prey. The blood and shock of battle aroused him to peak performance, and to his own subconsciously twisted logic, it seemed a waste to keep such talent bottled up.

But a much smaller, wiser voice in the back of his head nagged him to stay in check. Aside from what might happen if and when Preen saw him in his true form and the pointless shock that might come from Raid and Durom, he had greater concerns.

His arms and legs moved quickly back and forth as he tried to keep the Fallen from reaching Raid or the others. But, truthfully, every crushing of bone or breaking of neck was one by reflex, as though he had set his body on automatic. All though that time, Natalie's words from before rang in his mind.

She was right; he did prefer to fight alone. And for a very good reason.

He didn't want to risk having to bury his new friends along with the monsters that they fought.

Elric quickly banished the thought from his mind and focused on the task at hand.  
His goal was clear: Survive this encounter with the others and then move on to the next one.

A small part of him chuckled.  
Strange, how that simple sentence, had become the staple of his life.

Then, Elric felt something that overwhelmed his current blood-high. Something, that interrupted every fighting instinct that he had for a split moment.

The half-demon twitched for a moment as a wave of heat billowed over and around his head, the 'fwooshing' sound of one of the assassin's traps roaring out loudly above the screams of those fallen that had been caught in it's fury. But more than that, more than hearing the roar of fire or the delightful screams of death, Elric 'Felt' something…

He felt the floor beneath him shift under his lightly sheathed human feet and the faint moan of straining stone reverberated in his ears.

In one furious motion, Elric snapped back, paying full attention to the oncoming hoard of dark skinned demons and taking the first deliberate action of the battle, swinging a hand back and tossing one of the creatures into it's brethren.   
While the move didn't do much to stem the tide, it did buy Elric the two seconds he needed to look down and confirm his fears.

A long, web-like crack ran down the length of the floor, growing faster than the half-demon's eyes could keep track of. Fearful, Elric looked up to the blood stained walls, finding (much to his dismay) a similar effect.

"Oh….DAMNIT!" It was the only warning that his brain could come up with on such short notice before the thousands of tiny cracks all though the walls and floors took their toll.

Time itself seemed to slow down as the structure below and above them gave way, the floor splintering and sinking faster than most of the humans or lesser demons could react. Some died almost immediately as wooden and stone beams tumbled from their resting places to crush unlucky Fallen ones. Shards of stone exploded upward skewering some of the startled creatures as a sudden, violent lunge brought everything left alive in the cramped passageway down to their knees as the floor fell beneath them. First two feet, then stopping… then, dropping out of control as the last fail-safe pieces of architecture failed, successfully collapsing the blood-smeared and deteriorated passageway down into the lower levels of the Rogue's jail, taking the human warriors and more than a hundred Dark Ones with it.

----------------------------------------------

Puke-Rag looked out from behind the jutting contour at the end of the hallway. His hair and single eyebrow had been singed off by the waves of mystical fire spewed forth from the magic human disk and his every breath filled his nostrils with sweet charred meat.

This place was feeling more and more like home all the time.

Cautiously, the chieftain of the Black Bladed Clan, looked out from his 'strategic fall-back spot' to survey the damage.

From what the Fallen Chief could tell, the shoddy huw-man structure had simply collapsed under the combined weight of his clan-mates and the huw-man warriors. He had pulled himself back, only a few feet out of the collapsing hallway as the black garbed huw-woman's magic disk began to spew its fire. This move had seemingly saved the glorious chieftain.

'No…' Puke-Rag mused, a wicked, black tooth grin gracing his scarred and slightly malformed face. 'Stupid, frail huw-mans challenge me…' Puke-Rag felt his mind racing, blood pumping as he recalled a very different version of events, told in his own image. 'But then they beg for mercy… and Puke-Rag gives them none. They fall, and my stupid clan gets in way. But Puke-Rag does not pause in your service, Mistress. They all die by my hands, my Mistress. Your servant is strong… He is. Bring death will I, to all who oppose my mistress.'

The thoughts and dreams floated though the Fallen Chief's head in a constant torrent. Within a few short moments, he forgot the feeling of fear that had consumed him only seconds before. He forgot how he had been forced to constantly use his enhanced power to raise his lower shaman brothers from the eternal rest while the 'weak' humans tore though his force with determined ferociousness.

Less than thirty seconds after moving out from behind his hiding place, where he had cowered in fear while waves of fire had rolled over him, Puke-Rag had convinced himself of the hastily concocted version of events and now believed it to be the only possible truth. The dead of his clan would rise again to serve him as they always did, and he would inform them of their victory over the last of the huw-mans.

The Dark One nodded to himself, wondering what his queen might give him as reward. Perhaps he should present her with a gift when he delivered the news. Yes, that would be good. The Mistress enjoyed presents, offerings, and sacrifices from her followers. The heads of the foolish mortals would do nicely if he could find them below. Curious as to how far the floor had fallen, Puke-Rag stepped with a superior and regal stride to the edge of the pit that had been a passageway before and looked down.

Shock filled the green-tinted Dark-One when he saw the abnormally large huw-man dangling from a jutting beam of stone, one hand firmly grasping the rough, sturdy rock while another held tightly to a blood-stained sword.

"Raka-Shu?" Puke-Rag jumped, crying out the customary 'Surprised' phrase of his kind.

"Hello, Ugly…" The muscled huw-man looked up at Puke-Rag, nodding his head slightly as he spoke in the cutting, absurd language of the mortals.

It was about now that Puke-Rag noticed another figure further below the large human, concealed at first behind the mortal's massive bulk.

"Good-Bye, Gruesome!" The smaller, black-and-bone clad human with pale white hair and skin shouted out, waving a simple stick up at the Shaman.

Puke-Rag was about to scoff at the seemingly mediocre gesture when a white light flared from the end of the stick.

Suddenly, Puke-Rag felt a sharp stab of pain in his head as his body lost all balance and, leaning over the chasm as he was, tumbled forward into the darkness.

Thoughts of victory reached back to the Chieftain of the Black Bladed Clan. A glorious return to his Mistress's side played in his mind as he plunged into the darkness, past the two hanging huw-mans and the ceiling of the jail below them. Just as he relived his fantasy of sitting on the right hand of his great and powerful mistress, Puke-Rag the Witless, he without mercy or tolerance, crashed and broke into a heap of bones and ruined flesh on the hard stone of the jail.

His thoughts now silence, Puke-Rag took his first true taste of permanent Oblivion.

--------------------------------------

"Well, that was enjoyable…" Cathim grunted with exertion and smiled with satisfaction as he heard the dull thud of the Shaman below. The moment was gone an instant later as Cathim tucked the wand into his belt and grabbed hold of Tozam's ankle with his other hand.

"Now then… How are you planning to pull us up?"

"Haven't quite figured that out yet." Tozam strained, trying to tighten his grip on the sharp stone that he had managed to snag before the fall. "I can see another support stone up here, but I can't reach it without letting go of this one."

"Well, that's unpleasant…." Cathim looked down in the darkness that surrounded the jail below them. "Hey, can you tell how far down this goes? I don't suppose that we could survive the drop?"

"I hope we could…" Tozam pulled his sword holding arm back, pushing the blade down into the gap between his mail shirt and the cloth padding underneath and freeing another hand to hold himself and the necromancer up. "…At least then we would know that there is a chance the others are still alive."

"Okay…" Cathim looked back down into the blackness below one last time, wasting a few moments wishing that he could know the fates of the brave warriors that they traveled with before tuning his eyes back up to the more immediate problem.

"I can try to climb up your body, get back up into the hall and pull you up after me." The necromancer though, thinking that the folds in the barbarian's chain mail would work as decent handholds

"How? You plan to use your scrawny body to anchor yourself while you heave me up?" Tozam asked in momentary disbelief.

"No, you moron! I'll use a bloody rope!"

"Oh, Okay, I guess that's as good a plan as any." Tozam conceded, "Okay… climb up. But watch where you put your hands."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sound off…" Preen's voice rang out grimly in dust, blood, and debris. "Who's not dead?"

"I'm still here, Preen." Natalie pushed herself up, several pieces of wood and stone falling off of her back as she straightened up and looked the paladin in the face. In the faint light, it was easy to see that Preen, not unlike herself, was battered and bruised, with a few scrapes and blood on his face from the fall, but seemed otherwise unharmed.

"Me too." Raid popped up behind the Paladin, straining as she tossed aside a beam that had pinned her leg only a few moments before. "Hey, Preen, do me a favor and remind me to take this up with Akara when we get back. Her monastery is just one big accident waiting to happen. This place is falling apart!"

The blonde Amazon pushed herself up for a moment, a grimace on her face as she tried to take a step towards her companion. She stopped and sat back down almost immediately, making no sound, but both Preen and Natalie were well aware at what pain must have shot though Raid's body with every move.

"Durom?…. Tozam?… Kassyera? Are you okay? Where are you?" Preen turned about, looking for their other companions.

"Be with you in a moment." Kassyera called out, her voice followed by a sudden wet snapping sound. "Yeah…. I'm good."

"What was that?" Durom sat up, rubbing his throbbing head as blood trickled from the side of his mouth and stained his orange beard.

"Another very short survivor…" Kassyera said, pulling herself up and popping her knuckles. "Don't worry, I fixed it."

"Okay…" Preen looked up towards the roof and squinted his eyes into the single beam of flickering light that came from the hole above. "I think I can see Tozam up there…. And it looks like…. What the heck is going on up there?"

"Is that the necromancer?" Raid asked, having followed the paladin's gaze.

"I think so." Preen answered, looking back down as he took in their surroundings. From what little he could see, they had fallen at least three stories down into an otherwise lightless and featureless stone labyrinth. . Around them, at least a dozen pathways led off in all directions and every sound they made echoed off the bland stone walls, announcing the presence of the adventurers to any creature with ears.

"Try to keep your voices down." Preen whispered softly, cringing as he realized that even that sound echoed faintly down the corridors. "Everybody, try to collect yourselves. We made one hell of a racket when we came down and need to get away from this place before anything comes to investigate."

Kassyera looked up and down the corridors, trying to remember if the maps or information that the rogues had given her made any mention of this place. Unfortunately, nothing came and, being pressed for time as they were, she was forced to guess.

"Down that way." Kass pointed down a random corridor to the right. "We can get away and then try to re-group."

Taking initiative, Durom moved over to Raid and, despite her momentary protest, put her arm around him for support and helped her move down the hall that Kassyera had pointed out. This was difficult of course, with the broken and twisted stone from above and the equally broken bodies of at least four dozen of the small black fallen littering the floor.

"Augh…" Raid whimpered for a moment as her wounded leg snagged a loose stone. "Wait…What about them?" The Amazon nodded up towards the hole in the ceiling.

Preen sighed, looking up one last time.

"As much as I hate to say it. They're on their own."

"They're not the only ones."

All eyes turned to the sorceress, who stood up at last, her dark brown eyes wet as she scanned the room.

"Elric's not here." She said simply. "Tell me… Why am I surprised?"

-----------------------------------------------------

"Come ON, you oaf!" Cathim held tightly to the rope, his eyes forced shut as the hemp bit into his skin despite his gloves. As the necromancer had unfortunately discovered once he had gotten up to the top of what was now a jagged ledge, he was very short on rope. The ten feet of rope that he had carried in the satchel on his back barely managed to reach down far enough for the barbarian to grasp when dangled down the side of the chasm, let alone be enough to tie around an anchor. So, as much as he hated it, all that Cathim could do was brace himself against one of the small alcoves that the Fallen Shaman's had used as shelter during the fight, and hope beyond hopes that the large warrior's weight would not pull him right off the edge; and send them both plummeting down the hole with the others.

It was bad enough that they were very likely dead. He had no intention of leaving this realm so easily.

"YOU would think that with all those muscles you could just pull yourself up… But Nooooooo!" The Necromancer grunted as he strained against the rope. "For the love of… Stop just hanging there and pull yourself UP!"

The necromancer's rant was cut short for a moment when he felt a rather thick finger prod him in the shoulder. Reluctantly, Cathim's eyes popped open to see the barbarian standing not even a foot away from him, holding the remainder of the rope taunt.

Taking a moment to be stunned, Cathim stopped pulling against the much larger warrior and let the rope fall slack.

"Uhhh…so…" An exhausted smile graced the Priest of Rathma's lips as the muscles of his arm throbbed painfully. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Since before the Oaf part." Tozam pulled up the slack from Cathim's part of the rope and skillfully coiled the hemp around his arm before handing it back to Cathim. "I just wanted to see how long you would rant before you realized I was already up."

"Okay…" The necromancer pulled the small back satchel up from the floor as he tucked the rope back inside and pulled the body hugging carrying bag back over his shoulder. "Now what? The Assassin was the only one that had any idea where we were going."

"No she wasn't." Tozam said seriously, looking around. "Kass was trying to get us to the Jails down below. I was trying to find something completely different."

"What?" Cathim was genuinely confused. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Just a little something that Charsi told me about before we left." Tozam smiled slightly as he reached up and pulled his remaining blood-letter sword from under his chain shirt and started down the hallway. "Come on. I'll fill you in while we look."

"What the hell? Okay, Little Bugga, I'll bite. What in the Nine Hell are we looking for? I thought we were trying to find Andariel and kill her with our magic beads?"

"Oh, don't worry." Tozam tried to comfort the necromancer while putting aside the thought that any or all of the others might be dead at this point. "That's still the aim. We're just looking for something to make those magic beads a little more effective."

----------------------------------------------------

FLASH

A broken, old man with a long, blood encrusted lay on the ground, clenching his mangled torso.

Elric recognized the figure instantly, and his upper lip pulled back in a vile sneer.

FLASH

Elric tried to move…. Lift his head… anything. But couldn't.

His thoughts were scattered and broken. Feeling as if he were everywhere at once. He felt pain in his forelegs and back, but it was distant, almost as if he were feeling wounds that were weeks old.

Where was he now?

He was in the Rogue's Monastery… trying to find his way to face Andariel…

FLASH

He was back underneath Tristram. The formerly beautiful architecture perverted and twisted by the equally perverted and twisted creature before him.

'No…' Elric thought. This couldn't be right.

What was this…A Dream?

A Memory?

Both?

The half-demon could feel his lips speak, but he could also feel himself lay still and unmoving. He could not hear the words, but had no trouble in recognizing what he had said.

FLASH

"Ohhhh…" The broken, balding old man laughed out-loud, clenching the wound in his chest that Elric knew he had delivered.

"…There were so many…"

Then something happened. Almost as if time skipped on itself. The next thing Elric could hear came as if he had suddenly dropped on a different conversation.

"…Could pay for them all."

FLASH

Elric's head throbbed and a new pain tore into his front right claw. He tried to come out of this memory.

FLASH

This was not somewhere he wanted to be.

"… LET THEM! LET THEM!" The old man was now ranting, spittle flying out of his mouth and insanity gleaming in his eyes. He knew that he was already dead and had dropped the charade… showing himself for what he truly was.

"EXECUTE ME! TORTURE ME! DON'T YOU SEE? IT DOESN'T MATTER…!"

FLASH

The pain was excruciating now. A growl escaped Elric's throat as he felt the dozens of tiny, razor sharp teeth pierce his bloody, ruptured false skin, cut right though his tougher, jet black scales and clamp onto the raw, corded muscle underneath.

Anger and heat rushed though Elric's numb body as he suddenly became aware of the frightening truth.

Something was trying to eat him…

FLASH

"….THE DEAD WILL STILL BE DEAD!"

FLASH

Everything exploded around the half-demon as he finally regained control. In one chaotic instant, he pushed his otherwise frail human body up and dropped his own charade. Red blood splattered everywhere as Elric's underlying frame burst forward and his bones corrected themselves. Sizing the moment of adrenaline and strength, Elric pushed every muscle in his body to the limit, rose up and off the broken, debris covered ground; and threw a large wooden beam aside.

Turning about, enraged and completely lost in the moment, the half-demon turned about to see several small, almost pygmy like creatures with long, jagged teeth and thick, oily mops of hair. Surrounding him were iron bars and cages of all kinds, all smeared blood that has, long since, dried.

One of the small, rat-like creatures whimpered and another (it's teeth stained with blackish-red demon's blood) started to run away when the half-demon's flame red eyes turned to them.

Without hesitation, Elric was on them, claws and tail flailing as he unconsciously tried to ignore the stale pain in his back…. The newly gained pain in his right claw…And the echoes of a memory that had brought him back to his senses.

But this time...he wasn't alone...

'Snarl...'

FLASH

"Where will you run next, Half-breed?…."

"How long until you run out of places to hide?"

--------------------------------------------------------

"So, does anybody know what the hell happened back there?" Raid asked as Durom helped set her down in a small, secluded alcove with one easily defendable entrance and exit.

"I'm not sure…" Kass shook her head, looking over Raid's wounds. "I think that the immolation trap I threw did something to the masonry. Heavens know it was already weak from all of the dark energy that has infested this place."

"So, you're telling me that we dropped three stories because of bad karma and a little heat?" Preen asked, running a hand over his minor wounds.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Alright then…" Durom shook his head, pulling one of the small red vials from his belt and holding it down for Raid. "What do we do now?"

"Rest for a moment…" Natalie said solemnly. "Then we have to move on and find Cat, Tozam, and Elric."

"No…" Preen shook his head, turning around to face the sorceress. "We have more important task that we have to complete BEFORE we worry about the others."

"That is my brother, Preen!"

"He abandoned us." Preen pointed out in a matter-of-factly tone. "As you said yourself, he seems to want nothing more than to go off on his own."

"Right… he decided to run away right as we plummeted into the dark…I'm sure that he's halfway to Lut Goline by now. I highly doubt that…" Raid coughed, wiping away a few drops of the bitter tasting healing potion and moving her leg up slightly, thankful that the pain was greatly alleviative. "In any case it doesn't matter. There is only one thing we know for sure. If we don't move…we won't last long."

This brought a shock of silence to the heavy breathing group. As much as Natalie would hate to admit it, the Amazon's pragmatic point was very correct. Thus far, they had managed to face off against a small army of Fallen Demons and lose half of their group in a structural failure. And there was no doubt in the minds of any of these warriors that there were more, much more dangerous hell spawn in this awaiting them deeper in the bowls of Andariel's Chambers.

A cold air surrounded Natalie at the thought. Not only were there lesser monsters to worry about, there was Andariel as well.

How could they possibly have hoped to stand against such might? They were merely mortals. Only drops in the bucket compared to the ocean of power that was the Maiden of Anguish. They might as well give up, she thought.

Give up…Lie down in this Icy… dark…

Natalie shook herself violently, breaking the depressing train of thoughts.

Cold? It was cold… Unnaturally cold!

Now the sorceress noticed that she could see her breath and that her skirt and top shook as well as her muscles shivered. Her thoughts slowed by the cold and depression, Natalie forced herself to concentrate and put the pieces together.

An aura of frost, plus a sudden, unexplainable depression….

"PREEN! DUROM!" Natalie called out, pulling her stave up to fighting position. "WRAITHS!"

--------------------------------------

"A Horadric Malus? A "REAL" Horadric Malus!" Cathim was beyond surprised by this information. In fact, he hadn't been this astonished since he had learned that Natalie had a six-foot long lizard demon in her family. "But, there were only two of those enchanted hammers in all of existence. One was in Tristram and You're telling me that the other is HERE?"

"Yep."

"Well…" Cathim shifted uncomfortably as the barbarian and necromancer turned another corner, grateful to find it empty of enemies. "This is either a very nice coincidence OR we are going to have to start worrying about the wrath of the Great Wheel."

"Awwww…" Tozam sighed with resignation. "Don't start talking about the damn wheel again. This is NOT a place I wanna take a nap in."

"This is all far too convenient to be simple coincidence, lil'Bugga…" Cathim continued as though he did not even hear the larger warrior. "The Wheel is spinning an intricate thread, fate and all things are beginning to come together."

"ORRRR maybe we just got lucky."

"In my experience, there is no such thing as luck." Cathim stated firmly as the two stopped before a corner and Tozam took a quick peek around.

Fairly certain that the next corridor was empty, Tozam waved the wand-wielding Necromancer forward.

"You know…I've heard that before, Catty." The Barbarian said, "and I honestly don't believe it. Luck is like skill… men make what they will of it… If it is real, then great, we have something to fall back on…If it isn't, then we'll make it by anyways. We do what we must to fulfill our duty…nothing more or less. Luck or no luck, you SURELY still believe that sometimes, Things just 'Happen'."

"Nothing ever 'Just happens' Tozam." Cathim lowered his voice, both adding drama to his voice and practicality as they were still in an enemy stronghold. "For every good done, there is an evil outcome. For every Bad Deed, some good, however slight, comes out of it. THAT is the nature of the Cycle of Being. And the Great Wheel spins the fate in such a way that there is balance in all things." Cathim paused once more while Tozam quickly peeked around the corner and then gave the all clear sign. "Do I believe there are coincidences in the world of men? Yes. I do… but I don't TRUST them. A coincidence is Man-made…. But the balance of the Wheel most certainly is not."

"You know Catty…" Tozam stopped and glanced back at the Necromancer. "It's a good thing this Monastery has a tomb…because you're boring me to death."

Cathim was about to reply with what he thought was the comeback to end all comebacks and make Tozam bow before his superior wit…but was stopped as he opened his mouth. Turning his gaze up, the necromancer took a whiff of the air and his look turned dead serious.

"You smell that lil Bugga?" The Necromancer asked, pulling his wand and dagger up to a battle position.

"Aye," the Barbarian replied, drawing his weapons as well.

"Brimstone…" The warrior stated firmly, slowing his pace dramatically with only a glance back to make sure the necromancer was following suit. "That forge is close by…"

"And where there is a forge…" Cathim continued, speaking now more to break the tension than to tell Tozam what he already knew. "…There's got to be a hammer."

"Well... The scent of brimstone also follows large fiends of flame and death." Tozam reminded the necromancer.

Cathim blanched visibly.

"Okay... Here's hoping that I'm wrong about there being no such thing as luck."

------------------------

'REND-TEAR-KILL-FEAST!'

From the deep recesses of the demon's mind, there was no response. No restraining, prudent, voices holding it back.  
A deep and honest relief filled the demon. It had been far too long since it had been set loose without the internal master jerking on the reigns.

Thrilled and aroused by the battle it was so easily winning. The black demon tightened it's haunches and pounced forward, It's tail decapitating or mortally wounding three more of the pathetic goat-men that had come across it before landing squarely on the targeted coward who fled.

'PAIN-SLASH-FEAST'

In a particularly sadistic moment, the black demon turned the bleating and sniveling goat man over, drinking in the fear of the fallen creature as one of it's hind claws quickly and savagely slashed the prone creature's belly. Warm, black-tinted blood flowed freely over the demon's hind claws as the goat-man's eyes widened and it's body bucked in protest to the pain.

The blood set the demon's senses aflame.

How could it ever have allowed itself to be denied this feeling?

Not wasting a moment of this exhilaration, the creature pushed itself farther down the goat-man's body and pausing only a moment to run it's tongue over it's dripping chops before plunging it's already stained muzzle into the gaping wound.

'FEAST-BLOOD-MORE'

From the innermost sanctum of the creature's mind, a tiny, nearly inaudible voice caught the half-demon's attention.

'Stop…' the weak, painfully familiar voice came. 'Just…. stop…'

The demon growled into the still convulsing body of it's victim while it pushed the overbearing and weakened voice back into the sanctum to which it had been forced to retreat.

The goat-man's death cry was music to the half-demon's keen ears while it chomped and churned the beast's insides with its thrashing head and piercing teeth. When the goat-man's blood and organs finally stopped pulsing with life, the half-demon pulled it's snout out and spat what meat and organ had found it's way into it's mouth on the cold, twisted stone floor.

This display was not about food…. The demon had long since fulfilled that need. This was something more.

Power….

Dominance…

Yes…that was it… Dominance.

The Demon within had already wrested internal dominance from the voice…the Elric… and now it would continue on until either everything that stood against it was dead.

Or he was.

------------------------

"I don't see anything…", Raid held her bowstring taunt, arrow notched and ready as she, like the others, looked about, trying to find the wraiths that Natalie had sensed.

"They are not part of the mortal world…" Preen quickly explained, scanning the small alcove. "They lurk in the spirit realm beyond our sense of vision."

"So how do we see them to fight?"

"We can't fight them with steel and arrows. You can only destroy them with magic." Natalie said shortly, "And you can't see them directly. Look for the blue flashes of light off their forms when they phase into our realm to affect the material realm. They feed off of depression and mana, bringing an icy chill into the material plane every time they take a bite."

"Is that why it's so damn cold in here?" Durom started before...

"THERE!" Raid shouted out the moment she saw the small blue flash, drawing back her bowstring and letting loose an arrow. Before anyone could react, the Amazon had already pulled, notched, and let another projectile fly.

Much to her surprise, both clattered harmlessly against the far wall and fell to the ground.

"What the..." Raid gasped in surprise... "But, my aim was perfect. How could I...?"

"What part of 'can't fight them with Steel and arrows' DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?" Kassyera scolded right as a blue flash caught her attention. Her own lightning fast reflexes, honed to a fine edge by a lifetime of vigorous training, struck out faster than the assassin could think. Nevertheless, Kassyera was more than a little frustrated (not to mention embarrassed) when her claws caught nothing but the chilled air.

"Well, at least I know that I didn't miss because of my aim." Raid grinned for a moment, her lips quivering and turning blue in the now rapidly dropping temperature.

"Shut up..." Kassyera snapped, now feeling more concerned than ever as her teeth started to chatter against her will.

Natalie was only vaguely aware of the exchange as she now focused the majority of her energies on keeping the elemental magic clear in her mind and searching the room for the tell-tale flashes of blue fire that would reveal the position of the wraith in the spectral realms beyond their sight. Even as she looked about her, she felt her grasp on the fire bolt spell she had prepared weakening...

Wraiths were infamous for their abilities against magic users, for just as they fed on the depression of all mortal beings, they could also feed upon the very mana that kept a wizard (or in this case: A sorceress) at top condition.

"Of all the times we could have used the necromancer..." Preen commented, also searching the blood-lined corridor for any hint of the vile ghost. Even as he spoke, Preen took note that his breath had become visible and a fine layer of frost was forming on his sword and metallic armor.

"To be affecting this place so quickly, they must have a massive source of depression and doubt to be feeding on..." Natalie observed, now more than a little embarrassed that she wore the traditional upper body wrappings of the Zann Esu. At the moment, what part of her mind wasn't occupied with searching out the wraiths bringing this deathly ice down on them was hoping furiously that neither Durom nor Preen were paying attention to her.

"HAIL AKARAT!" Preen shouted out suddenly with such voracity and conviction that he made every human around him jump almost a foot into the air. Before anything could be done or said, the paladin launched his blade and arm out in a seemingly random direction and, from the edge of his blade and the tips of his fingers flew what Natalie could only relate to crosses made of pure light.

The only thing more surprising than this was when the strange bolts of holy energy collided with an invisible enemy, drawing a shrill, angry cry as the damage brought the wraith into the sight of the splintered and cold group for the first time.

Unlike Preen, who had seen such creatures back in Tristram, the others couldn't help but be frozen for a second by the sheer vileness of the undead creature before them. Natalie had read about the beast in tombs of her order, but had never realized the horror of the creature first hand. It seemed like a human skeleton at first, a not so uncommon occurrence in these dark times, but it floated in the air before them, writing in pain as it floated on fire. Where fingers should have been were instead impossibly long, stretched bones forming what looked much like a bat's hand. The wraith's menacing effect was astounding, covered as it was in the icy blue flames that it seemed to keep the limbless body aloft.

But menacing or not, it did not keep the zealous paladin from launching another volley of the holy bolts at the stunned creature. With each successive strike, the blue flames flared around the ghostly wraith and a shrill cry was let out. It was only a few seconds later that the creature cried out once more in a sorrow filled, almost pitiful moan and the blue fire died. The spark of un-life gone, the now very physical wraith fell to the ground, splintering like ice as they added to the already gory and horrific decor of the monetary.

Preen stood silent as the others stared at the fallen wraith, a well-earned respect for the paladin's obvious skills blossoming with each of them.

"Only one?" Raid asked, relaxing now that the chill had miraculously vanished from the air. "That's not good."

"What's not?" Preen asked, breaking his silence with a mumble.

"That one of these wraiths had us all so tense and would have caught us all off guard so easily." Durom shook his head, realizing what was going though the Amazon's mind. "If this one mindless undead could set us back on our heel's so easily, there is no telling what will happen if we actually manage to get to the catacombs to confront the monastery's current owner."

'Well, it's not hard to say what could happen to us...' Natalie thought darkly, but kept the demoralizing statement to herself. If this wraith had found them because they were feeling depressed, it was likely that other wraiths would find them too.

"We have to move on." Natalie said bluntly.

This time, there was no argument.

"Which way, Kassyera?" The sorceress asked, using the assassin's name respectably for the first time since the two had met before Tristram.

There was no time for their petty differences now. They were fighting to stay alive.

"Well..." The assassin began, slightly stunned by the Sorceresses' newfound cooperation.

"GAAAHHH NOO! ME NO DIEEEEEEEEEEE!" A shrill, high-pitched voice cried out loudly, echoing from what seemed to be every direction.

Every hand shot towards a weapon and was raised to battle position before the sound died in the echoes of the maze like lower levels of the jail system.

More discerning to the group was the wet, sharp rending sound that accompanied the voice. A low... Almost inaudible struggle could then be heard... Followed by a vast, terrifying roar in the depts.

"What in the name of the light...?" Preen looked more than a little shaken up as the roar died as well in the echoing distance of the jail's hallways. "What sort of monstrosity was that?"

For the first time since the group had left the Rogue Encampment only a day or so before, Natalie laughed out loud. The group looked at the sorceress, fearing for a moment that she might have gone mad when they realized she looked as happy as a young girl opening presents at the Winter Festival.

"I know that roar anywhere..." The Zann Esu nodded knowingly, suddenly feeling very much more assured that they would get out of this place alive and in one piece.

"Little brother... One thing I can say about you is that you can be very easy to find."

"Elric?" Kassyera asked, then shared a small smirk with the group. "As best I can tell, the echoes came from that way. If we follow them, we should be able to find your brother."

Preen looked for a moment as if he was about to protest, and then thought better of it.

"Alright then," he shrugged helplessly, remembering Raid's earlier words about the half-demon being an 'asset'. "I suppose we better go see what the little monster has gotten himself into."

-----------------------------

Only a few hallways away, the Demon ripped the entrails from it's newest victim, watching it's eyes as they darted back and forth in pain.  
It couldn't scream anymore, a single claw though it's fragile chest and into it's lungs had robbed it of that outlet for pain. But the spasm's of the fallen one's body combined with the look of horror and suffering in the pathetic creature's face and eyes were almost music unto themselves.

And to think he had found this one napping only a few moments ago. Too bad the fallen had such low tolerance to pain...

Less than twenty full seconds of pulling the creature's limbs out and then spilling its rancid intestine's onto the floor like so much pasta...

'Time must fly when one is having fun,' the demon mused for a moment...then shoved the spontaneous idea aside.

Just then...something new caught the half-breed's attention. A much more pleasant...vibrant smell than these loathsome creatures.

Something...stronger.

Something... More durable.

The demon grinned wickedly as it placed the scent.

Humans...A favored prey.

Finally...A real chance for fun.

------------------------------------------------------

(And now… The conclusion)

"Break into the demon-controlled monastery…sure why not?" Cathim uttered under his breath. "Fight our way though hordes of fallen and demons…. Save the Rogue Sisterhood… Oh yeah… we can do that. Kill a demon queen? NOOOO Problem…" Sarcasm permeated his voice as the necromancer pulled himself along the cracked and ridged stone floor, keeping as low as he could.

"Get a hammer with Tozam…. Should be a bloody cakewalk… I mean, it's just a hammer…Who's going to guard a hammer?"

The ground suddenly rumbled again, giant thundering booms echoing as the stomping footfalls rushed closer to the necromancer's position.  
With a strength and dexterity that Cathim was not even aware he possessed, he lunged forward and to his feet, dodging narrowly out from behind the barrels that had served as his hiding place.

"YOUR SOUL WILL FUEL THE HELLFORGE!' The bloated, brimstone encrusted smithy growled out loudly in a voice that sounded like he had bits of gravel encased in some very uncomfortable places.

Already flushed and soaked from sweat due to his exertions, Cathim found it difficult to keep up his pace. Now he wished that his and Tozam's places were reversed, surely killing a swarm of fallen ones would have been easier than luring THIS thing away from the forge.  
Turning about on one foot and nearly tumbling head over heel, Cathim stopped and turned back, pulling out his already well-worn wand and firing yet another bone-tooth at the blubbery, enraged demon.  
Not surprisingly, the shard of bone being embedded along side others just like it in the "smith's" fleshy interior did little to help with its mood.

"GGGARRR! COME HERE MEAT!" The slow moving but powerful charged towards the necromancer again, the combination of his ample frame and heavy steps cracking the stone at his feet.

One thing that Cathim truly felt grateful about was the fact that this demon was nowhere near as intelligent as it was strong. Otherwise it would have realized that Cathim was just a decoy LONG ago.

"Do you SEE any meat on me, monster?" Cathim quickly let the comment slip before resuming a very hasty retreat.  
As per the plan he and Tozam had managed to cook up before alerting this behemoth of Cathim's presence, the necromancer had let the brute in a circle around the corridors, pulling this 'Smith' as Cathim had begun to call him, away from the forge so that Tozam could deal with the minions that stayed near the forge. Then, Cathim was to lead him back to the forge area where he and the lil' bugga could focus on KILLING this creature.  
Of course, Cathim's run was supposed to last for twice as long as it had, but Cathim was not the athletic sort and already felt his stamina exhausted. Quite frankly, the necromancer was amazed that he was still standing at all, much less running back to the forge where he hoped that Tozam had already disposed of the minions in the forge.

----------------------------------------------------

"Mi lady?"

Andariel brought a clawed finger to her lip as her legion of succubi, her own handmaidens and finest warriors, were gathered before her.  
While she certainly felt safer, more assured of victory, with her warriors closer to her, especially with that…THING...In her new home. However, she had received a message that she simply could not ignore.

"We await your command, Lady Andariel." The legionnaire, commander of her succubi bowed, her wings folded in respect to their mistress and master.  
Unlike the rabble that had been formed in this land, the fallen and misshapen demons that now entangled the mortals in the jails and levels above, the Succubi were elites, capable of corrupting and seducing any mortal man and killing any mortal woman. Unlike the weaker demons and minions that had flocked only recently to her banner, such as Blood Raven, the Succubi did not fail.

And yet, her own master, the returned Lord of Terror, had made his message very clear…and to refuse would be more than dangerous.  
The Maiden of Anguish would not share the fate of the traitors Azmodan and Belial.

"My command is simple. You are to go north to the frigid peaks of this mortal world and wait until you are called upon either by myself or by one of the Greater Evils."

This unexpected decree stunned the succubi, who had never before left the side of their master. For a moment, nearly every face among her darkly beautiful, winged seductresses was tinged with confusion.

"Are there those among you who dare to DEFY my will?" Andariel asked, her voice a mix of honey and venom.

None of the company spoke…their loyalty and faith in the Maiden of Anguish unquestionable and in after a moment, the handmaidens of Andariel filed out of the Mistress's throne chamber, intent on following her orders.

As Andariel watched her elite warriors leave her side for the first time in their existence, a darkness clouded her mind.  
Surely the Lord of Terror had reason for this unprecedented request. She had regained faith that the Prime Evil indeed had a much farther-seeing view than she. And her twisted logic told her that regardless of what had happened in Tristram, these mortals could not hope to defeat her.  
She was a goddess.  
And even if the creature…this strange half-breed…was among the humans, he could not be as formidable as she imagined.  
Blood Raven had been weak, and even if the creature survived a battle with Lord Diablo beneath the surface of Tristram, he had faced a Demon Lord who had a reason in defeat… so the defeat had itself been foreseen and planned by Terror. The Half-Breed's illusionary victory had not been it's own.

That was correct, of course….  
Why then did she feel a sense foreboding as the last of her winged seductresses file and fly out of her chamber to travel northward for reasons she could not begin to fathom.

--------------------------------------

"HHHAAARRRUUU!" The barbarian sung around, his blade held firmly in two hands as he cleaved yet another of the minions of the Forge clean in half. Had it not been for the sheer heat of the forge and the constant dodging around of recently forged weapons of iron and bone, Tozam would have not broken a sweat. Sure the little demons ran from him as soon as they laid eyes upon the raving mad mortal...but that was all part of the barbarian way of combat.

From the looks of it, even unbalanced as he was by only having one blade, Tozam would be able to clear out the last few of the fallen forge workers and be ready for Cathim's return with the fat demon with several minutes to spare.

But then the skinny necromancer came running back into the forge at top speed.

"Wha…?" Tozam was perplexed for a moment, "Catty? You aren't supposed to be back here for…"

"SHUT UP AND RUN YOU BALD COW!" the necromancer raced by the barbarian at a speed that stunned Tozam to no end.

He honestly had no idea that the skinny, non-athletic death priest could move that fast.

"INSECT!" The reason for the necromancer's uncharacteristic speed rushed into the forge room, not paying any attention to the human-sized architecture and crashing straight though the stone and masonry both above and to each side of the entrance.  
"I WILL MAKE WEAPONS FROM YOUR BONES!"

In the moment he had to stock the situation before the creature that was upon him, Tozam realized the mistake of sending Cathim as a decoy. He had thought that something so massive couldn't have bevery fast. Strong perhaps...but not fast enough to keep up with Cathim's light (if somewhat under worked) frame.

Dodging aside as the flabby Smith's large hammer came crashing down on his position, Tozam realized that this experience was best to be analyzed and learned from at a later date.

"AHA!" Tozam rolled out of the way, coming up to his feet and pulling his blade up in a heroic pose to attract the creature's attention.  
"COME DEMON! AND FACE MY BLADE!"

In response, the large Smith turned about, grunting in exertion as he swung his great hammer in a horizontal arc just short of the unflinching Tozam's face, but striking the same blade that the barbarian used to threaten the hell-spawned creature.

Having been trained by the best his people had to offer, Tozam was easily able to keep a hold of his blade's hilt as it was jarred… Unfortunately for him, the sheer weight of the blow snapped the steel and magic blade of at the cross-guard, leaving Tozam holding a very decorative, but useless magical hilt.

A moment passed as Tozam took in this offensive maneuver.

"Y…YOU BASTARD!" Tozam screamed in anger, tossing the handle and hilt of what was his weapon over his shoulder. "THAT WAS MY LAST ONE!"

If the demon smith had any remorse for the horrible vandalism and insult to the barbarian's warrior honor, he did not show it as he roared loudly, his horrid, brimstone laced breath wafting over the barbarian and making Tozam want to vomit.

Taking advantage of it's opponents momentary hesitance as Tozam tried to fight back the repulsion, The Smith took one step forward, shaking the floor as he stomped down and reached the hammer back behind his head, preparing to deliver the final blow.

"You're spine will make a fitting blade, huw-man!" the Smith gritted, it's disfigured, yellow and green teeth bared in a horrid smile as he pushed his arm forward, ready to crush the human where he stood.

Yet another shockwave of surprise rocked the Smith as his elbow was caught by a flying shard of bone in mid-swing, throwing off his aim and stealing momentum just enough for the near-retching warrior-man to dive to the side, letting the overhead swing crash harmlessly into the floor, cracking the stone and sending a few shards into the air.

"Oh hell…" Cathim was frozen in place for a moment, his wand in hand as the Smith roared again in pain, eyes turned to where the necromancer was standing and then to the bone-tooth lodged in his arm. "Come on…I could use another of those…." The Priest of Rathma shook and tapped the wand again, trying to activate it's magic to no avail.

His wand had been exhausted and it's magic drained.

"Well…this could be unpleasant." Cathim tossed the drained wand to the side, his eyes never leaving the deadly demon Smith as it heaved the hammer up and turned on the necromancer, charging Cathim with all the mindless fury of the demon.

At this, Cathim smirked.  
He might have lost his new favorite toy, but he was nowhere near as helpless and frail as the Smith might think.

With a thought, the necromancer pulled at the ample tormented spirits in this corrupted place, pulling them directly in front of him and solidifying it with a twitch of his hand.

In that instant, the solid, two foot thick wall of bone formed directly between the flimsy necromancer and the blobby bulk of the Smith.

Of course, Cathim enjoyed the sound of the fat demon crashing against the sharpened, abrasive surface of his bone wall, but had not time to celebrate as the stupid thing began bashing away at the wall, breaking though the thick, but brittle bones that cut him off from his intended target.

Cathim thanked any gods or higher beings listening that the creature was too stupid to go around the wall and attack him from the side, that gave him enough time to plan the second part of his distraction.

Once more, he dipped his will into the spirit world and in a fraction of a second, managed to find more than enough fighting spirits to aid him. His orders sounded in his head and past his lips as his mana flowed into the many open bodies around until he reached his limit. In only a few seconds, bodies of fallen and the skeletons of others who fell weeks ago rose again, bones twisting and contorting into a form that seemed more suitable for the setting.  
Sweat rolled off Cathim's brow as he exhausted his mana, forming more skeletons now than he had ever tried before. Seven fully realized skeleton warriors and two skeletal mages, the first he had ever brought forward. His will now stretched to it's limit to maintain control, the necromancer stepped back from the breaking and crackling bone wall, falling to his knees as he repeated his mental orders to the minions again and again.

"Kill the fat one…kill the fat one…"

Tozam, having recovered from the horrendous breath and sheer might of the demonic Smith, looked up to see the vile demon flailing against a wall of white bones, oblivious of the skeletal abominations that were suddenly upon him, leaping, clawing, slashing, and making a nuisance of themselves while the two with red and blue glowing hands pelted the obese creature with bolts of flame and ice that reminded Tozam of Natalie for a moment.

At first, the overwhelming persistence of the skeletons seemed to work, bogging down and drawing the Smith's attention from the two human warriors, making him drop his enormous hammer altogether as he screamed in rage. But any hopes that the skeletons would be able to finish the job quickly faded as the demon reached up it's meaty hands and crushed the skulls of two of the offenders with ease, making the bones fall lifelessly away from him.

Tozam cursed under his breath, his stomach churning in spite of his will. The sheer strength and stamina of this demon were amazing. Shards of bone and slashes that continued to accumulate as the multiple skeletons mauled and slashed with their bone made weapons and magics riddled the flabby body and yet there was no sign that the beast was slowing at all.

Tozam panted, pushing himself to his feet while keeping his stomach from flopping around inside of him. He was not going to be much good in this fight in his condition, and having brought up so many skeletons after bringing a bone-wall into being and running as much as he had before must have put Cathim near exhaustion. Yet still, the corpulent demon flailed, hardly showing any effort at all at defeating their defenses to dust.

Tozam's eyes went wide in realization as the wheels in his head suddenly churned.

'The corpulent "DEMON." ' Tozam's mind reiterated as a hand went to his belt.

"CATTY!" He shouted, readying his own nerves for what he was about to do. "MAKE THEM HOLD HIS ARMS!"

Holding all of the faith he had in the necromancer, Tozam charged forward, leaping with a shout at The Smith. His faith was rewarded so it seemed as the four remaining warrior skeletons made a grab for the creature's arms, holding them down for a few moments with their own un-natural strength as the bone-wall the stood between Cathim and the creature dissolved.  
Tozam realized the necromancer was putting all the power he had into holding the raving Smith still, his failing will and mana fueling the strength of his undead minions. Tozam knew that he only had ONE shot at this.

The barbarian landed with a thud against the massive bulk of The Smith, a muscular arm wrapping around the demon's head and grabbing the greasy, leathery folds of the demon's head and pulling it back.  
As planned, but much to his disgust, the Smith Opened it's mouth again, it's horrid breath blasting Tozam in the face as it let out a horrendous roar. Forcing every ounce of his will to fight the repulsion and holding his breath, Tozam crammed his other hand into the Smith's mouth, opening his fist and accepting the massively painful bite of the corrupt creature.

In what had been a fraction of a second, Tozam was wounded again, his blood flowing freely in the demon's mouth as the last of Cathim's strength failed against the more powerful creature. His mana spent, the fighting spirits that Cathim had summoned faded and, without their empowering spirits, the skeletal bodies crumbled to the floor, freeing the Smith's arms. Now, the necromancer prepared for death as he was truly defenseless.

With his arms free, the Smith reached up and peeled the meaty human away (taking a good bit of meat off his hand) and threw the warrior behind him were the wall of pointy bones was, plopping the barbarian down painfully on the exhausted Necromancer.

'Huw-mans…' The Smith thought to itself, reveling in the pain of the bones and cuts. 'Pathetic….'

In the minor pain and enjoyment that he was suffering, the Smith did not realize what he did as he swallowed, drinking what blood and meat was left by the meaty, strong human's hand…. And what he, in passing, thought felt like a small rock as it slid down his throat.

"Now 'Huw-mans…" The Smith sneered, seeing that his pray, while formidable against the little fallen and other lesser beasts, was helpless before him.

"Now…. You feed me…and I will make you immortal as weapons of my own."

In the one-sidedness of this confrontation, there were two surprised beings in the room when it was suddenly filled with a victorious laughter. The sneer vanished from the Smith's face, replaced by confusion while the necromancer Cathim merely looked upon the laughing Tozam as though he were insane.

"Not today, beastie…" Tozam panted, holding his mangled hand as a smile spread on his face as more than a little bile flowed over his lips.

"You've already had your last meal."

The Smith was about to sneer.

He had to respect the human's valor and bravado in the face of certain death. And was about to make a comment about how he, the Smith of Andariel, would remember this battle.

He was ABOUT to…but all things stopped for the Smith as a sudden fire burned in his chest.

Pain, greater than any that the experienced, powerful upper demon had known rippled through his body, contorting the features of his face in a grimace that made him all the more ugly while the fatty composites about his ample frame began to convulse against his will.

"Have you had your silver today?" the Barbarian said in a sing-song jingle voice as he smiled though the pain, realizing that his plan had worked.

The Smith opened his mouth to scream offer himself some form of release, but no sound came out…only a billowing white smoke as the fire in his chest burned hotter and more painfully than any in the nine hells. Reaching up to his chest, feeling that he HAD to extinguish the fire, the Smith began to claw wildly at his chest, panicking and tearing away his own flesh in hopes to stop the pain…the boiling. Blacked demonic blood poured on the floor as he rendered several layers of skin, but was stopped by the bones of his own ribcage. Blood now pouring from its eyes as well, the Smith fell to its knees, the pain to great for any demon to hold against. As suddenly as lightning though a pure blue sky, the Smith's chest exploded outward in a burst of light that shone out the creature's mouth, eyes, and ears, rocking the creature back on its heels before falling forward on it's belly, unmoving.

Silence reigned for a few moments as the two humans watched as the skin of the fatty Smith began to bubble and blacken.

"Well…" Cathim snickered lightly, amazed by the sudden turn in events. "That… That was VERY convenient."

"Yeah…" Tozam panted, the burning pain searing up his arm from the Smith's bite. "Remind me to give Akara a big kiss for letting us have those beads, when we get back." 

"So… that's how you did it." Cathim was panting as well, his muscles twitching and his mind reeling from the ordeal. "Hell…for giving us the key to beating that thing...I would sire her children myself were she not celibate."

"Well, I'm sure she will thank the Sightless Eye for her celibacy when she hears that."

"One more comment like that…and you don't get any of my healing potions."

"Alright, alright, 'stud'." Tozam laughed heartedly though the pain and the horrid stench of the smith, who was now smoldering from the inside out it seemed. "How about you let me have a few of those vials and we sit here in the quiet for a few moments."

"Yeah…that sounds good…" Cathim agreed, pulling the red health potions and a few blue mana potions from his belt to share.

"And then…" Tozam looked up at the rack next to the forge, now that things had calmed down, he could see what they had come here for. "We take the Malus and find the others."

"How did I know you were going to say that?" Cathim looked at the smoldering corpse of the Smith, hoping that all of their enemies could be so stupid.

"But for now…. We take… a break."

"Agreed." Cathim nodded before he slumped over, falling into an exhausted sleep.

Tozam snickered to himself, downing half a health potion and pouring the rest on his hand, forcing the flesh to mend and repair itself.

"Wizards… show me one with fortitude and I will show you a barbarian at heart." Tozam mused to himself.  
Well, with any luck at all, he would have time to help the necromancer improve in that area.

---------------------

---------------------

"Elric?" Natalie turned about in the faint light, looking for any sign that her brother was now here.  
The group had been looking for more than half an hour now, going down this corridor or that, finding evidence of the Half-demon's passage everywhere. Bloody goat-men and torn apart Fallen ones were only the beginning as they soon came to find spiders that had been brutally rendered open and had their insides spilled all over the floors.

And the sheer horror of what had been done with some of the creatures bodies made even the most sturdy among them blanch for a moment.

"Are we sure we want to find what is doing this?" Raid had asked a short while before when they came upon a room literally filled with the head of small, pigmy lick creatures planted on stakes. Weather this was here before or a recent addition was anybody's guess, but the fresh blood trail made it a much easier one to follow.

At first Natalie's answer had been: "Of course…these were monsters and we would have done the same if we could.". The sorceress had kept seeing her little brother Elric, lost and alone, afraid that he had lost her…she kept imagining that he must be tearing the place apart looking for his friends and his sister.  
But the more sundered, broken, and torn bodies they found, the more that image began to fade. There was too much horror on the face of the many dead bodies they found. Too much brutality to be a quick sweep to find others. The Goat-men, Fallen, and other misshapen creatures that the group could not identify were not just killed it seemed…they were tortured… slowly, by something that was enjoying it.

Natalie forcefully recalled the occasions she had actually SEEN Elric fight with all of his being and found, much to her disappointment, that she could not think of once since they had found each other that she had witnessed the Half-Demon truly fight and kill in his lizard-like demonic form.

Only one event came to mind… when Elric had first found her, Tozam, and Cathim… when he had obliterated a virtual army of Fallen as if they were nothing, then incapacitated both the Barbarian and the Necromancer as if they were little more than nothing. Aside from that, Elric had always disappeared just before or as combat had taken place, careful to go off alone and do whatever it was that he did. Now she regretted thoughts that she sometime had that Elric ran away as the fight got tough.

Was this what he did? Did he rend his enemies apart like this, away from her eyes.   
A jolt rocked the sorceress's mind as she recalled her brother's teeth at her throat that first meeting, he had tensed up, ready to kill her, unaware of who she was.

He didn't finish the killing bite of course, but now that she thought about it, he had said some things since then that now made her blood run cold.

'Says you…I'm dangerous, alright.' ….. 'Haven't you figured it out yet? I am a weapon.'

Memories of Elric's fiery red eyes at the Carine Stones and the moment in Tristram when he had 'torn' through his human skin in front of her ran though her mind and the sorceress was ashamed to admit that she was beginning to feel afraid of her brother.

When she had first found Elric…she couldn't help but think of him as that kitten-like white lizard that she had found as a child…

The one that she and her mother had taken in and had learned to talk, read, and write in the matter of a few weeks. She saw the playful young Elric pouncing around after rats and on balls in the yard playing with her and her other brothers. She had seen the sad green eyes that watched her from a window at she left home with the Zann'Esu.

Now she was realizing that her adopted brother was not at all as she remembered him. He had lived his own life, one wrought with pain and experiences that she was only beginning to understand.

Now, the group traveled in almost utter silence, the unease making Natalie's own introspection that much clearer. And it also made them all more skittish. At that moment, Natalie hoped that Tozam and Cathim were having better luck than they were.

"Don't worry, Natalie." The sorceress jumped nearly out of her skin when she heard the Assassin's voice beside. She was not aware that she had allowed her defenses to fall to a point that she had let the Viz-Jaq'taar get behind her.

"He'll be alright, I'm sure."

"I know that…" Natalie said softly. And though she was able to bite her lip and keep from letting the second comment from passing her lips.

'He'll be fine….it's us I'm worried about.'

A short time later, the group halted, taking a moment to rest and discuss their methods.

"Natalie and I will take point…." Kassyera volunteered, her hair matted with blood and dirt. "I think we are almost to an exit… if we keep heading this way, we should find a staircase up into the Inner Cloister. From there we can reach the Catacombs that make up Andariel's seat of power."

Preen sighed, looking about to see if there was any argument. Needless to say, he was surprised when Durom, who was normally silent in the absence of his barbarian cousin, spoke up.

"Is our chief concern now finding the others, or chasing down the demon-queen?"

"We have to find Elric." Natalie blurted out without any thought. Her voice was strained as she was pulling herself out of her memories of childhood with the half-demon. "We need him."

"From what I can see…" Durom looked over his shoulder, indicating yet another mangled body of a former monster that they had found. "We may not like what we find. I have seen the beasts of this world, warrior men, and demons sadistic demons hunt, Natthilea. Would you care to guess what your 'brother's handiwork reminds me of the most? And I suspect that a creature capable of this would have no qualms in destroying any alleged 'friends'."

"THAT'S A LIE!" Natalie's response echoed down the corridors, surprising even herself. "ELRIC WOULDN'T DO THAT!"

"Your Elric might not…" Durom recomposed himself quickly, "but a demon would."

"Great…just great." Raid pushed herself up in a standing position, "Now we not only get to continue our search, we have to do it fast to get away from here."

"Alright…" Preen sighed again, moving up and grasping Natalie's shoulder firmly (making her twitch a bit as it was the same shoulder Elric had accidentally cut into at Tristram) "Our situation hasn't changed. Our first priority is to find our lost companions…ALL of them. Tozam, Cathim, and your brother. Our second is to hunt down Andariel and put an end to her…even if that means our end as well."

Preen, sounding now the part of an exceptional leader, got no argument save the dry glance of the masterless druid.

"Alright," The paladin continued, "We move on… Kassyera and Natalie at the front as agreed. Durom and I will take back. Raid, try to stay off your leg, you're only making it worse."

"Nag, nag, nag…you sound like my father." The Amazon mocked, disgusing her grimace as she stepped. " 'Don't climb to high…you might fall. Don't run to fast…. You could trip.' I swear… like a bloody hen."

"And I take it that your childhood involved a great deal of falling and tripping then?" Kassyera asked pointedly.

"Well, yeah…but that doesn't mean he was right."

At this the group shared a much needed chuckle…all of them but one.

Durom sniffed the air and looked about. He had studied predators and prey, the very fiber of nature all of his life, and while he did not want to alert his companions and make them even more tense, in his mind there could be no doubt about it.

They were being hunted…

---------------------

After a little more than a half hour of walking, and only a bit of backtracking, Kassyera assured them all that they were coming close to the stairway to the inner cloister.

And the sooner the better the Paladin thought, for Preen had noticed that the normally placid Durom was sporting a new demenor. Every turn they came to, he tensed up, as though he expected some evil to leap out at them at any moment. Granted in this place, Preen could hardly blame him, but it still sent the Protector of the Word into a similar mindset, heightening his sense and focusing them at the surroundings.

But it was not until Preen saw Natalie come to a dead stop, staring down a hallway, and then running down in the wrong direction that he realized just how bad the situation could truly be.

Like a shot, Kassyera was on the sorceress's heels, her advanced physical conditioning more than enough to catch up with the more scholar like Zann Esu.

Natalie hardly noticed the assassin at her back as she ran down the hallway and into a dead end. Now, upon closer inspection, she was certain of what she had seen.

Two more bodies lie here, grossly dismembered bits of the abominations, but that hardly mattered now to the sorceress.

What did matter was the lump of bones and black scales curled up between them like a napping cat, back to her. Natalie knew her brother, she knew how he liked to sleep, and she knew without a doubt the scar that he carried between his shoulders.

"Elric!" The sorceress went down to her knees and wrapped her arms around the curled up demon without a second thought, smiling warmly as she spoke. "We thought we had lost you."

Her face pressed against Elric's scaly back, the sorceress felt the halfling shiver at her touch… and then growl low in his chest.

Natalie's heart skipped a beat… she had heard him do this once before as well…as a child. She had accidentally kicked a ball out from under him and knocked him back when they were playing. When she had gone to see if he was alright…he had growled like this and his eyes turned….

The sorceress jumped back quickly, holding out one hand and catching the assassin, pulling her back.

"Wha…Natalie…what is.." The assassin stopped, seeing the fearful look on the sorceress' face.

Natalie had seen Elric when he was fighting and angered recently, and each time, his eyes regained that frightening red glow. He had fought it back each time that she had seen, but now the memory flooded back of that day behind the farm house, when he had not held back.  
He was so much smaller then, and his claws were not so sharp, but he had still cut into her leg pretty badly that day and she had the scar on her thigh to prove it. Back then, he had come to and apologized over and over again. And after a day or so, she had forgiven him and forgotten about it.  
But he was no longer so small…and she knew from experience that those claws were no longer so dull. If this was the same as that day…then she would not likely be alive when he regained his sense and apologized.

"Elric….Elric…Stop." The sorceress took a shaky step back, warding the assassin to do the same. "It's me, Elric…remember…Natalie?"

All of Natalie's worse fears were proven as that lizard like head reared up and turned apart of Elric's normally handsome, sleek snout towards her.

His lips were pulled back in a wicked sneer, dripping with blood both fresh and old. The scar that now accented his face, running down between his eyes and down his snout, was also caked in dried, crusty blood and bits of flesh.

And the most frightening feature of his face now, the mirrors into his soul….his eyes burned with a red-hot, glowing hatred that encompassed all emotion.

Natalie felt frozen for that instant, and Kassyera must have felt very must the same as she did not move to run or defend. Holding the two of them in his piercing gaze, the demonic shell of what they both knew to be Elric shifted his weight, slowly pulling up to four legs and leaving his wicked, deadly tail to drag on the ground.

He glared at them…unmoving except for the twitching of his snarling lips and the heavy heaving of his flanks as he breathed.

Natalie thought that she recognized this hesitance. An internal struggle…

One that she felt she had to help her brother win.

"Elric…it's us." She said calmly, bringing her hands out in front of her. "We are your friends, remember? We don't want to hurt you…"

This statement was replied to by a deep, throaty chuckle on behalf of the demon before them.

Natalie was confused….was Elric merely playing with them? If he was, then is was a HORRIBLE joke. Or did the demon inside of him not consider them a threat at all?

"Bloody HELL!" Natalie and Kassyera heard the voice of the Amazon over their shoulders just as an arrow soared past them.

"RAID NO! DON'T…" Natalie tried to warn them, but it was too late.

The arrow was struck and sundered in mid-air as the black half-demon leaped into action, it's tail moving faster than humanly possible to block the projectile as the beast lunged forward, leaping clear over Natalie and Kassyera and diving towards the Amazon.

Surprised to no end, the Amazon was nearly defenseless as the wolf-sized beast descended on her, claws outstretched and jaws gaping open. In an act of pure instinct, Raid pulled her bow up horizontally and stepped in-between the outstretched arms, avoiding the wicked claws and jamming her composite bow into the beasts jaws.

To an extent, the maneuver worked as the Amazon was bore to the ground by the sheer weight and momentum of the creature, but she quickly realized her horrible position as the demon thrashed from side to side on top of her, jaws working furiously to remove the obstacle while it's claws supported it's weight on the ground, keeping the bow from breaking it's jaw-hinge.

Pinned as she was, Raid could do little more than hold the bow in place and look down the throat and into the eyes of this creature that had suddenly attacked. The teeth were razor-sharp and in the sheer moment that had passed, they were already stripping the strengthened bow, weakening it tremendously.

The demon could feel the flimsy gag losing it's integrity in his mouth. In less than a second, it would snap the bow in half and begin it's first feast on delicate, soft, real woman's flesh that it had ever had. The weaker part…the Elric… had never eaten a woman before… would it be softer? Would it be tasty?

The train of thought was interrupted as a powerful blow sent the demon flying on it's side, jarring the bow from it's mouth and letting the Amazon roll to the other side. Durom, his powerful great spear in his hand brought the weapon to bear, it's barbed and sharpened head turned to the flat-side that he had used to throw the half-demon to the side.

'Fool,' The demon thought, rolling as it landed so that it would come up on it's feet. 'Used it's one chance and used the flat part…. It will pay for that mistake'

At that moment, the eyes of the druid and the monster met, cold and steeled blue eyes against the hate-driven, burning fire in the eyes of the demon.

The gaze was held for several seconds before a new voice interrupted the demon's focus.

"The beast from the Blood Moor?" The man in the shining armor said. "The murderer is here?"

The demon cursed the weakling Elric…. He remembered this scent from before, when the half-demon had fought before. He had let this one live…and now he was here to vex the demon again.

Blinded by a righteous rage, Preen bared his teeth and brought his weapon to an offensive position beside the druid while Kassyera and Natalie moved to the side of the Amazon to help her.

"Watch it's movements," Preen warned the druid, knowing some of the creature's tricks from their previous encounter. "It has the agility of a cat and will side-step if you bear to hard on it, and watch the tail, it conceals deadly blades and acts as a whip"

"And you be cautious, Preen…" Durom replied, noting the conflict behind the flaming red eyes. Unlike the paladin, He saw the creature for what it truly was and now worried that they might have to kill the half-demon in self-defense. And such would be unfortunate as he both liked the one called Elric and had to admit a curiosity as to the Half-Demon's design. He carried features of many beasts of the mortal realm, bringing them together in a harmonious blend that made his appearance both frightening and beautiful at once.  
Indeed, Durom thought, there was more than just the demonic at work in Elric, simple demonic blood would not have gone out of it's way to create a form so sleek and efficient… only nature had such concerns.

"We battle a friend who is not himself."

"A…a friend…?" Preen looked down at the wolf-sized demon and his eyes widened in shock.

"Elric…So THIS is what we have searched for? This is what the others defend? A murderer and a liar to boot?"

In reply, the demon hissed hatefully and dove forward, twisting and sweeping out it's tail when it came in range.

Thanks to Preen's warning, Durom was able to catch the tail with his great spear instead of his hand, protecting himself as the razor sharp bone-blades ejected themselves from the smooth tail-sheath while the paladin dodged back for a minute before coming in with his blade overhead, prepared to sever the creatures head from it's neck.

Despite the shockingly effective manuver, the demonic reflexes managed to catch the incoming blade with the equally tough claws. Using the momentum of Preen's attack in it's favor, the demon pulled the paladin down with him, disarming him in one move while swinging about and using it's tail (which was entwined with the druid's spear) to push the mortal backwards while retracting the blades and slipping his tail out of the trap.

As the paladin went tumbling forward and the druid back, the demon seized it's opportunity, pouncing on the heavily armed paladin and pulling it's claws back what would be a fatal slash across the un-helmeted warrior's throat.

'BLOOD-REND-TEAR-FEAST!' The demon reveled in it's victory, eager for more blood.

-SMACK-

The blow lost it's momentum as the half-demon was suddenly attacked….

No…not attacked…struck…

Slapped across the nose.

Confused, the half-breed's eyes lifted up and found the sorceress in front of him…her breathing labored.

"Elric…." Her voice was little more than a whisper…

"Stop…"

The demon was sent reeling…. This was not something that it had expected. And that surprise brought a sense of weakness…. And weakness was something that the now dominant demonic psyche feared more than anything.

In that instant of confusion, the mind that the demon shared was torn apart…shattered and broken as memories were released, instincts suppressed, and that damnable controlling voice.

The half-demon let out a suppressed "WAARRKKK" as it fumbled off of the paladin, claws to it's head as the pain from the sudden release of all that it had suppressed hit is like a runaway cart.

Just as surprised was the sorceress Natalie, who had moved almost on reflex, striking out at what seemed to be the demon's only vulnerable spot. Now she realized that she had stirred something in his head…something that she had to nurture if they had any chance to protect him AND the party.

Moving without thought, Natalie got on her knees and grabbed the demon's wrists, not even thinking about the fact that he could easily break both of her arms.

The demon's head twitched back and forth, as if unable to focus past whatever was happening in his head, whatever conflict now consumed him.

"Elric…Look at me…"  
The demon shied away, it's eyes closed…

"LOOK AT ME DAMNIT!"

The demon looked up, unable to disobey the command, and opened his still flaming red, but now they were un-directed and confused and his breathing was erratic.

"Who am I, Elric?" She asked, trying to force him to remember.

The demon snarled and tried to turn away.

Frustrated, Natalie dropped his wrists and grabbed the sides of the demon's head, focusing it on her.

"WHO AM I?"

The demon seemed to hesitate…as if struggling with the thought before it willed it's mouth open slightly.

"N….na…Natalie…" He hissed, first questioningly…then stronger.

"And what am I to you?" She cooed, putting her face to his and keeping a lock on his eyes.

"S…Si…Sis…ter…." The demon closed it's eyes for a moment, then opened them again, the glowing red that burned replaced by human eyes…dull, green, human eyes.

Seeing this, the sorceress let go of his face and realized how badly her brother was shaking.

"Na…Natalie…. Oh gods… I…" his voice gained more and more humanity as he continued to speak.

For a moment, the sorceress's heart jumped as her brother lunged forward, but calmed almost immediately as he embraced her, draping his lizard-like snout over her shoulder.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry… I'm so sorry Natalie…" He said over and over again, his voice cracking as if he were trying to sob…but couldn't. "I woke up after the floor gave away under us and I lost everything. I couldn't stop it, and it took everything away from me."

Natalie held him closely, attempting to comfort the demon though she felt she could not even begin to understand. And looking up past him, she eyed Preen and Durom, who stood behind them, weapons ready, and with a slight nod, asked that they go back and check on Raid.

Humbled and cautious of the sorceress and the power she held over this formidable creature.

Elric…the real Elric had been found, and everything that he was had finally been laid bear to everyone there.

----------------------

The Necromancer awoke from his awkward position to the clanging and pounding of a smithy's hammer against metal.

Leaning up and stretching his neck, he felt a sharp pain shoot down his spine as well as two sluggish, limbs as he realized that his legs had fallen asleep under him.

How long had he been asleep he wondered. Looking down at the pile of ash that was where the Smith had been, he had guessed probably more than an hour.

"Aha!" Cathim heard a victorious voice from the direction of the forge.

"I knew that I had some talent as a smith."

Grunting with exertion as he rose, Cathim pulled a mana potion from his belt. Thankfully, he had pushed himself to, but not beyond the point of exhaustion, saving himself from a very dangerous 'mana-burn'. Having already risked his life once to force a bit more raw energy into his spells at Tristram, the necromancer was not looking forward to having to suffer his body being tormented if he were to focus his magic for longer than his will would allow.

"What did you do?" Cathim asked, the bitter blue mana potion working down his throat and helping ease his exhaustion. "Make a horseshoe?"

"Nope." the barbarian turned to the necromancer, his face beaming and sweat rolling down his bald head and brow. "I just made the very thing that is going to get us all out of here in one piece, thanks to this LOVELY magical hammer." Tozam turned and kissed the head of the Horadric Malice for a split second and then pulled away from the still hot surface of the magic smithing hammer.

"Oh?" Now Cathim had let the barbarian peek his curiosity, watching Tozam dance around in self gratification for a moment while he downed a health potion and a bit of water to restore his vitality, Cathim decided to take the plunge and ask.  
"Alright…WHAT did you make that is supposed to save us all?"

"Aha, A feat of such smithing skill that it is amazing that nobody thought of it before, my dear necromancer… First, I found a handy hand and a half bastard sword that was just lying around… then I found another and came up with the idea… You have heard of those weapons some pirates use…with two bits of pipe connected with a chain they call 'Nuncucks'. Well, I have two swords…so why not link them with a bit of chain? And then…we have…SWORD-CHUCKS! The greatest weapon in barbarian history!"

The necromancer looked at the smug barbarian for a moment in utter astonishment, wondering what sort of idea could POSSIBLY be worse…

"You're joking…" Cathim said, his eyebrow's twitching from the sheer stupidity of such a creation as a 'Sword-Chuck'. "In the name of Rathma and all the dead that have been turned in the Great Cycle of Being….PLEASE TELL ME YOU ARE JOKING!"

The barbarian laughed heartedly at the necromancer's tone and begging attitude.  
"Well…since you put it like that… Yes. I am joking. Give me a little credit Cathim…I mean seriously….Who would be STUPID enough to come up with an idea like THAT?"

"Thank all the gods in heaven…" Cathim breathed a sigh of relief, glad that his companion was NOT a complete moron.

"But what I DID do was make the weapon that will kill Andariel!" Tozam announced proudly, pulling a still warm dagger off of the forge rack. "What do you think?"

Cathim, wondering what was so special about the little dagger, took the blade offered him… and recognized the bone-inlain handle immediately.

"Wait a moment…this is MY dagger. What did you do to it?"

"Isn't it great?" Tozam beamed, "I took those little beads that Akara gave us and worked them down into a thin layer over the blade of the dagger… That way, we have an actual weapon that can hurt the Demon Bitch Queen."

Tozam stood tall, proud of his incredible resourcefulness and skill in coming up with this idea.

"Wait…let me get this straight…." Cathim felt a familiar headache pounding in his head. "You took… the four beads of Demon's Bane…."

"Actually,.. Only three, the fourth piece we used to get him…" Tozam thumbed at the pile of ashes on the ground that was once the Smith. "And that piece turned all black and crumbled when I tried to get it back."

"I see…so you melted down three little balls of Demon's Bane."

"Yep."

"And you… spread it very thinly over the blade edge of a dagger?"

"Yep."

"Without ANY knowledge of how the metal behaves, weather or not it will alloy, or IF it can even be metallurgical JOINED to another metal without losing ALL of it's properties."

"Ye…" Tozam stopped…. He hadn't thought of that, in fact, he was just thinking that the metal acted an awful lot like quicksilver in that it hardened very fast as it adhered to a new metal. "Well…I…uhhh." 

"Uh-huh. And tell me, Tozam, did you EVER stop to think that maybe the reason they had been made into beads in the first place is because the amount of Alchemical Silver needed to KILL a full-blooded demon had to be….ohm I don't know…the size of an acorn?"

"Well…I uhh… It MIGHT work." Tozam tried to reason, smiling sheepishly.

"Might work? We are going up against a demon goddess of hell, breaking down her doors and practically challenging her to a fight to the death…and you want to risk ALL of our lives on MIGHT?"

"Well," Tozam blushed under the necromancer's scrutiny. "Look at the bright side, the others will still have THEIR beads if we need them."

"Assuming they are alive, Tozam…THINK. Even if they ARE alive, what if they ran into creatures like THAT one?" Cathim gestured to the pile of ashes on the ground.

"So….uhhh…was that a BAD idea?" Tozam asked, trying to keep his voice as light hearted as it was a few minutes before.

Cathim sighed.

"I don't know how the metal works either, Tozam. I suppose 'IF' it works, I will owe you an apology and I will buy you a tavern of ale for coming up with it."

"Heh…" Tozam smirked.

"But if it doesn't, I'll make sure to torment you for the rest of your afterlife for your stupid 'creation'."

"Ahhhh so business as usual then?" Tozam smiled his most disarming smile and tucked the mystical hammer into his belt where it would be safe.

Cathim sighed. What a team the two of them made, he thought as he took the 'silver-lined' dagger and put it in his dagger sheath. Maybe they would get lucky and a single cut from this would kill Andariel.

Cathim doubted it of course…but he was allowed to dream as well.

"Business as usual. Now…lets get out of here and find a way to the inner cloister. If the others are still alive, they must be heading that way as well."

"Oh…" Tozam's eyes lit up again and he pulled the Malice from his belt and held it in hand. "Something else…I found out what one of the magic things it can do is."

Cathim cursed himself again as his curiosity was peeked by the barbarian.

------------------------------

"I never wanted to hurt anyone…" Elric tried to tell them, sitting as part of the circle of companions for the first time since that night in the Den of Evil wearing his own skin. "I…I try to do the right thing and help when I can…but sometimes… I lose control. And when I lose my grip on my humanity…I become…that "THING"."

"Internal instincts…" Durom said solemnly, seeming to understand what Elric was trying to explain better than any of the others. "You are constantly battling against what your nature tells you to be. A beast that lies within you. If I did not find what the demon was capable of so frightening, I would be intrigued."

"How long have you had to struggle with this 'inner-demon'?" Kassyera asked, her eyes showing a worry that almost matched Natalie's.

"All my life…" Elric admitted, lowering his head in shame. "I have learned how to use it almost at leisure, letting it fight while I try to keep my mind focused on what has to be done. Most of the time, it is satisfied with the blood I let it have in service of what I do. But sometimes…." His voice trailed off.

"It overwhelms you?" Raid asked, stretching out her leg again and looking pleased to find the pain was gone.

With Elric's help, they had managed to find a small, unopened stock of healing potions that had managed to mend all of the party's wounds, Raid's most of all, as from what the others could tell, she had cracked her leg. And as Preen was not yet capable of healing with his magic, the few potions were all used up to make sure that the group was in top fighting condition.

"Yes…" Elric answered, then launched into a deception that would make what was to come much easier…he hoped. "I lose almost everything when it takes over… I have no control…and I can't remember what I do when the demon is moving."  
He shuddered a bit…that last part was a deliberate lie, he could remember what he did perfectly even if he had no control…but he had to set up a defense for what he knew was coming.

"My companions on the Blood Moor?" Preen asked, keeping himself well restrained in spite of what he was hearing.

"I'm sorry, Preen. I didn't know. I admit I approached one of your people and asked for a mana potion…but I had intended to run away when the answer was no. He was…a bit faster than I expected and I was injured. And when that happened.. I lost it." Elric lied.

In truth, he had picked the fight with the first arrogant paladin, but Preen did not need to know that. Nor did he need to know that Elric had been consciously aware of his ever action in that fight… His apology however, was genuine. He regretted having assumed the worse from the paladin group and forcing the fight. Yet another sin that he felt he would have to live with in silence.

"I… I won't ask you to forgive me for what I did, Preen. I know that I am guilty, weather I remember it or not, for everything the demon does. I am just sorry that it happened that way." Elric bowed his head respectfully to the paladin, wondering just how he would react to this news.

Much to his surprise, Preen changed the subject entirely.

"Kassyera, which way to the inner cloister?" The paladin asked, standing up suddenly and moving away from the group.

The assassin looked about for a moment before figuring a direction.   
"Down this hallway, no more than a couple of minutes if we have figured out this maze of a jail correctly."

"Then let's move people." Preen moved straight in the direction Kassyera had pointed out, as if nothing had happened at all to affect him.

At first, Natalie was about to object, but then felt Elric's claw on her hand. She jumped slightly, a reaction the honestly saddened the half-demon deeply.

"No, Nat….he's right. We still have to find Tozam and Cathim. We are not finished here yet." He said soothingly as he moved to all fours and started to follow.

"Wait, Elric… Shouldn't you change back?" The demon's sister asked him quickly, also getting to her feet.

"What would be the point, Natalie?" The demonic figure turned slightly to show off his uninjured side and look back at her slyly with his now shining green eyes. "I would just get everybody bloody when I changed back. So best to stay this way."

At first shocked by Elric's comfort around the group in his demon form, the sorceress then stopped and conceded the point to her brother.

The only thing that upset her now was when the assassin walked up behind Elric, quickly knelt down and whispered in his ear. What business did that woman have talking to her brother?

What she didn't realize was that the message the assassin had for the demon was nothing coddling or sweet.

"For someone with perfect memory…" She had said, "..You should learn to lie better. Or you'll be caught in that deceit one day."

Elric, trying to act stoic in the matter, did not react, instead choosing to act as Preen had and simply…soldier on.  
-----------------------

The surprisingly intact nature of the inner cloister had changed little since the exile of the Rogues. In some ways, this was due to Andariel's desire to keep some piece of the Monastery as it was in order to remind those who were brought before the Maiden of Anguish of those she had easily crushed to take the keep.  
The other reason was because the common, destructive rabble of the Bitch-Queen's army was not allowed to come so close to their mistress's seat of power unless they had urgent matters to bring to her attention or were summoned by name to the throne of Andariel. Under normal circumstances, the large gate in the south-western wall was the only entrance into or out of the Inner Cloister

However, just because the demons and monsters of this place had not trashed it completely did not mean that it was unaffected. The grass in the cloister, once trim and green was now dead and a heavy, dusty rot had already begun to infest the many white marble statues and the fountain that once complemented the green grass were now blackened by the evil presence of the place.

And it was also why the Inner Cloister of the Rogue's monastery was completely empty when the chained, hidden door leading down into the jails was suddenly pushed up.

"Hey..what the hell.. The trap door is locked." A muffled male voice came from behind the door.

"Locked?" A equally started, sultry, female voice asked. "Come on… let me though, there isn't a lock in the world that can keep an assassin out."

"Oh yeah…how about the kind that's on the other side of the door?"

"Well, that MIGHT help."

"Damn…of all the times that Cousin Tozam would come in handy." A different deeper male voice echoed up from a distance.

"You guys DO realize that you have a walking battering ram down here don't you?" Another, younger sounding voice came, growing stronger as it spoke.

Some grunting and uncomfortable noises were heard then as one of the voice member's bodies pushed pass the others, drawing a few comments.

"HEY!" the sultry female voice came again, "Watch where you're putting that nose."

"Sorry, sorry…. It's dark okay."

"Can't you see in the dark?"

"Uhhhhh…" The younger voice stalled, then changed the subject. "Oh look, I found the door…you mind moving Preen?"

"Owch…what the hell are you doing demon?"

"Arc the back just right…. Coil up your muscles and…"

The Trapdoor leading up into the Inner Cloister was suddenly ripped off it's hinges as the black, lizard-like demon barreled though, his arms over his head as he pushed the doors off and then out in front of him to cushion his landing.

"Well," Preen peeked his head out the trap door and then stepped into the inner cloister. "That was certainly loud enough for everybody in the keep to hear."

"Oh yeah, Pally?" Elric turned, his earlier submission of guilt and remorse seemingly forgotten. "And I suppose you had a BETTER idea?"

"No…not really." Preen admitted before turning about to help the others out of the door. "Check the area, Elric."

" 'check the area… open the door….' You know Preen, keep barking orders and we'll have to have you put down."

"Elric…" Kassyera came out of the trapdoor next, more than ready to fight if need be. "You need to Focus…"

"Oh alright…" the half-demon moved out, his movements reminiscent of a depressed

wolf.

Preen sighed, helping the others file out as they each took stock of the situation and readied their weapons.

But, despite the tenseness of the situation, the group found that the inner cloister of the Rogue's monastery was surprisingly calm, not at all the fiery, lethal welcome they had expected.

In only a few moments, a much relieved looking Elric returned, a slight bounce in his step as he bobbed along back to the group.

"Elric, Report." Preen ordered.

"You DO realize that I am not a solider, right, Preen?" Elric reminded the militant paladin.

"Elric… What did you see?" Natalie asked him, cutting off the paladin with her staff before he could get another word out.

"Coast is clear." the half-demon motioned the others out.

"CLEAR?" Preen almost couldn't believe it. "I was expecting hell and damnation to come at us in a wave like in Tristram.

"Well, that makes two of us, but there's nothing out here."

"And you are certain?" Durom asked, his hands still holding the great spear.

"My six senses don't lie. There is Nothing out here… at least not yet. But there is a door on the northern wall that must lead into the citadel."

"If that's so, then they are probably all packed in there worshiping their goddess." Natalie observed, wondering if Andariel could really be so arrogant as to not post at least a few guards outside the temple.

"Six senses, Elric?" Durom asked, curious.

"Yeah, Sight, smell, sound, touch, taste and blood lust." He looked that the druid in surprise for a moment. "Don't tell me, humans have no sense of taste right?"

"You're joking right?" Durom asked, his face a stone mask.

"Uhhh…yeah...sure."

Only a few minutes later, the group found itself in what was once the garden of the Inner Cloister of the Monastery. Now, they were taking one final rest, hoping beyond all hopes that their companions, Tozam and Cathim would find them.

A hope realized when Elric perked his pointed ears up and turned his head to the south, facing the wall of the outer keep.

"Hey…does anybody else hear that?" the half-demon asked his human conspirators.

"Hear what?" Preen asked just before a low, rumbling thud echoed though the Inner Cloister.

"It sounded a lot like that, only it was softer last time."

Again the echoing, sound came, only this time clearer, far more like a crashing than a simple thud.

"Arms…" Preen said…softly at first, and then repeating, pulling his shield from his back and readying his sword. "Arms!"

Almost in unison, the troupe was up and ready, blades, stave, bow and spear at the ready while Elric just kept facing the direction that the noise seemed to be coming from.

Again the crashing sound came, louder now and more clear for all of the mortals (and half-mortal) beings in the inner cloister, tense and ready, prepared for the worse that hell could offer in this place….

Once more the crashing came…. Too close now to make any mistake that it was coming for them… and now, as it was, Elric could pinpoint it's orgin.

"THERE!" The half-demon pointed across the garden, to an outer wall that protected it. Whatever it was, it must have been powerful indeed to make such a noise.

And then it happened.

A large chunk of the wall exploded outwards, stones and mortar going every which way as dust puffed out, obstructing the view. Raid was ready, her bow up and leveled and Natalie prepared with pre-emptive bolt of fire.

"AHA! You see?" A familiar voice came out of the dust cloud. "I TOLD you that if we kept knocking down walls, we would eventually get outside."

"In case you've forgotten…the LAST time we got outside, we almost stepped right off a cliff, just make sure there are not a sheer drop this time."

Weapons and spells dropped from their ready position as the group already in the cloister looked in awe as the two figures, one bulking and massive and the other scrawny and slight stepped though the dust cloud.

"Well I'll be damned…" Kassyera couldn't hold back a smile as the Necromancer and Barbarian strolled into the Inner Cloister, looking dusty, grimey, and more than a bit covered in blood, but none the worse for the wear.

"Careful, Viz-Jaq'taar. Somebody here might take you up on that offer." Cathim smirked, surprised to see that the others had beaten them to the Cloister.

"You weren't thinking about going in without us? Were you?" Tozam heaved a small, ordinary looking hammer over his shoulder.

Together again, the party would have wanted nothing more than to share a moment of each other's company, to exchange stories of what had happened and to ready themselves for what was to come. But these mortal champions had no time to celebrate their reunion.

Questions…. Duty…and their dire situation kept the conversation short as all eight heads now turned to the last door.

They all knew what was beyond that, even if they did not know what was to come.

Andariel's Lair. The very home of the Bitch-Queen in Sanctuary.

"So…" Elric's voice broke the tense silence. "Who wants to knock first?"

-------------------------------

Inside the temple, hundreds of converted sisters, goat-men, and fallen demons had gathered, either reveling in their own cruel natures by having over-matched fights with crowds choosing the weakest among them and having at them or contemplating the glory of Andariel, their Mistress, in an all out orgy of blood and mayhem. The enormous founts that once held blessed water now over-ran with blood, though weather it was the blood of the rogues first slaughtered her or that of the 'failures' among the corrupted sisterhood could not be distinguished.

Such was the 'festivity' of madness inside the cathedral sitting atop Andariel's seat of power that no-one noticed the main doors opening slightly…or the figures filtering in. After all, this was a place where none but those chosen by Andariel could come. This was the place of her Vanguard.

So nobody at all noticed, intoxicated as they were by their blood-frenzies and religious divinations of their mistress, when several small, coin shaped disks began to slide across the floor.   
Nobody noticed the shadows of the 'un-touched' as they held to the background, waiting for their cues.

Well, nobody noticed…except for a single goatman…who's hoof strayed and stepped upon one of the flat disk that was set upon the floor.

"Uuunngghh?" The goat bleated, hardly realizing that it would be his last syllable.

The trap snapped open immediately, a single three-pronged pole extending to the ceiling before erupting in a malistrom of spinning lightning.

Needless to say, the creatures within range of the device were VERY surprised. And though the chaos caused by the first of the assassin's traps was useful, the true beauty did not begin until a few seconds later…when each of the other twelve traps the assassin planted were activated, sending forth waves of fire.

Kassyera grinned at her handiwork, waiting for those anxious moments for battle. The others watched waiting for the majority of these hell-spawns to fry or burn.

And the Half-Demon watched with a restrained glee as the demon within him stirred at the screams.

As suddenly as it had begun, the fire-storm ended, leaving several shocked survivors among the piles of corpses.

"FOR ARREAT!"  
"HAI AKARAT!"

Paladin and Barbarian, predicable as always, rushed forward into battle.

And Elric simply couldn't take it anymore.  
"YOU…BAD PEOPLE….DIE…." He started… not sure what he should say…  
In the end…he stuck with what he new best, letting out a powerful roar before sprinting into the fray himself.

----------------------

Andariel, the Maiden of Anguish, could not have been more surprised when she heard the sudden commotion above her.

"Impossible…" the word passed her lips, but offered no solace as the Bitch-Queen felt a sudden warmth above her.  
So…it was true… The intruders had not only managed to get past the outer walls, barracks, and jails in one piece without alerting her…but they were also so brazen as to DARE attack her directly. And with the rancid fire no less?"

With a deep rumble in her chest and a sneer on her twisted face, the Lesser evil heaved herself out of her chair.  
She had not been so directly challenged in centuries. Not even the Seraphim had been so bold as to attack her. But then again, that was always in her own palace of Ice and bones on the first level of hell.

But no matter…. These putrid mortals would learn soon enough the error they had made in coming so boldly against a goddess.

How they came here did not matter. They would die and rot in her temple. Her servants feasting on their flesh.

All except the Half-Breed.  
The Lord Diablo had charged her with dealing with THAT one personally. And so she intended.

"Send forward all who serve from the lower levels!" The Bitch-Queen demanded of the few guards that she had stationed inside her throne room with her. "Slay the mortals And bring the half-breed to me!"

The goatmen and twisted sisters that played the part of Andariel's guard parted and carried her commands without question, rushing blindly up the catacombs and into the fray.

Leaving the Mistress of Anguish alone in the deepest chamber, in her own remaking of her place in Hell, more anxious now for battle than she had been since she sided with Azmodan and Belial in Hell's Civil War.

"Come to me, Half-breed." She sneered, "And let us see how thick your blood flows."

----------------------

"HEY GUYS!" Elric shouted over the combined violence and blood-shed of the large temple room. Swinging back quickly, the half-demon managed to decapitate, eviscerate, and strangulate a row of goatmen, pulling back quickly enough that their spurting blood did not get in his mouth as he spoke.  
"I THINK WE NEED A NEW PLAN!"

"HHHAAAYYIII!" Kassyera, who was closest to the half-demon launched into a flurry of kicks and heavy, bone crushing punches to free her mind up a moment.

"IT'S CATHIM'S TURN TO COME UP WITH THE PLAN!"

Cathim, doing his best to keep to the back and act the part of a puppeteer with the skeletons that he had managed to summon up, overlooked the scene as Natalie and Raid stood at each side of him, using magic and arrows to keep anything from coming too close.

Tozam, Durom, and Preen each fought along the line, each of their styles devastating the enemies and trying to keep them from surrounding each other, with Cathim's skeletons lending a hand were they could, but not backing each other into a corner as the blades, pole-arms, and snapped around the fighters.

Cathim and Natalie knew that they could not hold this position. Certainly not if the reinforcements to the demon army CONTINUED to pour out of the single door that must have lead deeper into the catacombs.  
Not only that, but Raid and Natalie had already managed to kill a few of the smaller black-skinned Fallen who were attempting to run for the door to bring more aid.

It went without saying that the door was their greatest threat. The more fallen, goat-men, and tainted sisters that flowed out, the more tired the combined fighters became. Even with the skeletons aiding them. Cathim saw that there was only one chance that the odds would even out.

"I HAVE A PLAN! ELRIC! CLEAR ME A PATH TO THE DOOR!" The necromancer shouted at the top of his lungs, dropping his focus on the skeletons and imparting to them an order to "Kill anything not human…except the lizard", before pulling his next to last blue mana-potion from his belt, pulling the cap out and chugging the liquid with a purpose.

"ON IT!" Elric hissed back, snapping forward at the crowd of goat-men and tainted sisters that were attempting to press in on him, forcing them to jump back as he slipped backwards and out of the fighting rut.  
The monsters that he left attempted to press their advantage of course, but thankfully, three of Cathim's skeletons managed to fill the void Elric left, holding the tide of creatures back as best they could.

Cathim, seeing the half-demon move, tried to follow along with it, getting ready to run RIGHT after Elric the moment that the demon started to push into the growing tide of demonic allies.

Elric landed on his claws, his head down and eyes closed as he felt the urging in him. He already knew that he was not going to be able to do this if he kept fighting like a human. Even though his skills as a warrior might be 'on-par' with Tozam and Durom, there was only one place that Elric would be able to get the savagery and instinct he needed to do what Cathim asked.

'Demon…' He asked himself, seeking whatever hole in his mind the beast had fled into after his previous defeat.

'You want me to fight now?' the demon in his head replied, 'You want to rend…to kill…. To ravage…But why? You do not see the joy in death…nor the pleasure of my existence.'

'DAMIT YOU! Get out here and do your job!' Elric's voice screamed inside his head, sending a shock rippling though his body. You want blood… You got it… but if you EVER go after my friends again…'

'Oh… go on…' The demon in his mind, completely uncaring to the dominant Elric's threat's shook him away.

'I'll kill you…'

The demon was awestruck.

It knew that there was only one way that it was going to die…and was utterly shocked by the severity and seriousness of Elric's voice. 

This time… he meant it.

'Well then…'

Elric's eyes opened, fiery red and more than ready to take anything that these annoying creatures could hope to offer.

"REND!" The blackened half-demon snarled, barrling forward with such speed and ferocity that those in it's path were torn to ribbons BEFORE they had the chance to be surprised.

Cathim of course assumed that 'rend' meant 'follow me' and within a few moment's had managed to duck though the death and gore to the door.  
Although somewhat perplexed by Elric's sudden new enthusiasm, the necromancer thought it best to wait as he realized a whole new swarm was heading up the stairs. Looking in and seeing a vast horde of fallen warriors heading up, Cathim merely shrugged helplessly.

"SO SORRY! FIGHT'S OVER! WE'RE CLOSED!" He shouted down the corridor before putting his hands together and dipping once more into the spirits of the place. Once more, he thanked Rathma that there were so many spirits here, ready and willing to fight for him. Just before the first dark Fallen warrior came within weapons range of the Necromancer, a thick, narrow wall of bone filled the entire stairwell, crushing all inside and blocking the entrance. It's mass so dense from being elongated into such a tight spot that nothing could possibly break their way up the staircase as long as he held it in place, Cathim realized he was suddenly a liability.

As soon as the wall of bone was in place, Cathim ducked down, turning back and watching as Elric, Tozam, Durom, and Preen were thinning the warriors in the room. Already piles of corpses were forming near every one of the close distance fighters, who were now fighting on two fronts as a much more dangerous, demonically charged Elric crashed into the back of their lines, laying waste to all in his path.

It was at times like this…that the Necromancer was really VERY glad that Elric was on their side. Cathim smirked to himself, realizing that this move had not only evened the odds, it had doomed the creatures stuck in the main temple as surely as if they had been crushed in the hallway by the bone.

Not that he lamented it for a second of course.

---------------------------------

"RETREAT!" The Dark-One Shaman King shouted, waving his banner back away from the now impeded staircase.

More than half of his tribe…crushed in a matter of seconds by the mighty human. And the screams coming from beyond the staircase were not like any that he had ever heard before. They were screams of demons…

This was wrong…how could mere mortals be besting them when there were so many? Already much of their force had gone up and was dying. Now, after more than a hundred died in an instant on the stairs, there were only a hundred dark fallen warriors left. Now the Shaman King felt the only thing that would truly stop them was the Almighty Andariel.

Yes…SHE would deal with these intruders.

"RETREAT TO THE GODDESS'S ANTECHAMBER! LET THEM COME TO US!"

Yes…the victory of Andariel would happen no matter what. Now the queen would show these mortal fools real power.

--------------------------------------

Preen moved back and then forward again, slashing and dicing in a pattern that the terrified goat could never even begin to unravel before his head was lobbed clean off. And with that last creature down, Preen fell to his knees, exhausted to the point that the only thing holding him up was his blade.

This leg of the battle was over and every single member of the eight man (and woman) party was wounded to a degree and fighting exhaustion. At first, nobody was even willing to approach Elric until he had calmed down (or his demon was also exhausted) and he came back to the group. Now, gasping for air and trying to clear their heads, the group divvied out what few supplies they had left.

Two mana potions for Cathim and Natalie, six stamina potions to share, and one full vial of healing left. The stamina potions were shared among the fighters that had fought hardest, aliveing their exhaustion while the health potion was divided into sips between each of them.

"You know…" Raid started, flexing her sore fingers, which had had unleashed untold damage on the horde they had just faced down. "This is really…. Quite challenging enough…WITHOUT the added handicaps."

"Agreed." Durom answered, clenching a small hole in his shoulder from a lucky spear that had penetrated his defenses. "Next time you people invite me on one of these outings… I am bringing a bigger belt."

Tozam, who had cuts and abrasions all over his body and was stiff from his wild, two handed sword swinging, let out a chuckle in reply.  
"If that was a joke, Cousin Durom. Then we need to work on your sense of humor."

Elric and Kassyera however, looked to the sharpened bone wall that had saved them all and given them the time for this much needed rest.

"We have to go down there." Kassyera said suddenly.

"Agreed," Natalie sighed, taking one of the healing potions. "We'll go down after we rest."

"No," Elric spoke up, still panting and suffering from well over two does small cuts all over his scales from stray weapons and claws. "The longer we wait, the more time we give them to fortify…"

"And the more likely Andariel is to flee." Cathim reminded everybody. "Don't forget that if the battle turns too much against her, she will attempt to flee her body and make her way back to hell to recuperate. We can't let her."

"Right…" Preen reached into his belt and produced two small beads of Demon's Bane, drawing a shudder from Elric. "How are we going to do this."

"If I may make a suggestion…" Raid piped up again, calling all attention to her. "I say we Wing it."

"Wing it…" Tozam laughed at the sheer desperation of it all. "Sounds like a plan."

"Well, look at the bright side…" Raid smiled warmly, "At least if we succeed, the surviving Rogues may be kind enough to commishion a bard to write a song about us."

"I doubt it…" Elric shook his head. "Kashya's a bit too cheap for that."

"Alright…it's settled." Cathim stood up, grabbing the last man potion. "Lets bring the wall down and invite ourselves in.

----------------------------------

Several miles away, the last of the Rogues limped back to the cave in which the Caravan hid.

Kashya reported the disastrous results of the attack to Cain and Akara, bringing forward her concern to all that the valiant adventurers who had gone in were likely dead as well.

All was silent in the cavern as Akara, Deckard Cain, and Charsi the smith girl kept their eyes to the east.  
Watching…hoping…and praying…

-----------------------------------

From even farther away, a very different pair of eyes watched the unfolding events from the majesty of the Crystal Arch.

Here, watching the events unfold in a pool of seeing, the Arch-Angel Tyrael watched with a heavy heart while the Crystal Council was deciding upon his request.

Although he did not wish to grow arrogant is saying he knew more than the council of the matter, he could not help but feel powerless as he watched what he felt was an important piece of the puzzle falling into place.

"Whatever you do, Elric…" The Arch-Angel whispered under his breath, holding out all hope until the very end. "Don't die."

---------------------------------------

The battle, one worthy of legend and song in it's one grace, raged on beneath the temple of Andariel.  
Seven mortals and one merely half….

Exhausted as they were, battered, bruised, and fatigued.

They continued to fight against the legion of Dark-Ones in this chamber, a vision of Hell itself as the pool of blood and bodies filled the room with a sickening stench of decay.

"AAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHHH!" The barbarian screamed in rage, adrenaline pushing his pulsing body to go though five or six Dark-Ones at a time, while the paladin, his shield disgarded long ago for being too heavy and in the way bore down on the beasts with an equally singular motive. Durom made his way across the room as well, however with a more calculated posture, his every move and action carefully planned as the enemies bore down on him, only to be cleaved in two or knocked aside by his weapon.

The assassin continued on, her graceful kicks and punches belying the fact that she was shaking to the point of falling apart.

Meanwhile, the Amazon, her bow string all but gone from overuse, continued to let fly what arrows she could find, but realizing her own supply had run out, she had instead begun to use the arrows of force that drained her very being…anything she could do to keep in the fight.

Meanwhile, Cathim and Natalie did what they could, trying to reserve their strength while picking off what enemies they could both from a distance and afar. Again, the Sorceress found her staff broken as she bashed an enemy's skull into the bloodstained ground over and over while Cathim, strangely enough, took his own combat as hand to hand, ignoring the dagger in his belt

And lastly there was Elric, who tore though the ranks as best he could, his movements becoming more and more sluggish as they fought, but his will never stopping.

And after more than twenty minutes of fighting the Dark-One's into a corner and throwing every trick and punch the group knew at them…. The last shaman fell as Durom separated it's head from it's body.

Now…the mortals stood, their breath labored and their bodies near breaking, before the door that he had no doubt lead to Andariel.

The cause of so much suffering.

The source of so much pain.

There were no jokes…there were no clever comments… there were no utterings of any kind between the eight who now stood, having conquered hundreds of demons that day.

There was only rage as the half-demon pushed forward, his own muscles close to bursting from strain, and pushed the doors open violently.

"ANDARIEL! DEATH HAS COME FOR YOU BITCH-QUEEN!" The demon shouted into the circular throne-room, his anger overcoming his body's need for rest and rallying the other to a combat position.

Silence swallowed them all as seconds went by before what they had sought….stepped into the light.

And the horror that was Andariel, the Mistress of Anguish, the Maven of Poisons, Goddess and Ruler of the first level of Hell stood before them.

The Bitch-Queen smirked, amazed that this ragged group had come so far.

But this was where they would end.

"Die… Maggots…." The once human lips hissed at them, and then charged forth, bashing the ground before them and sending every one of them, mortal and half, flying though the air.

---------------------------------

Elric Tasslewind crashed into the far wall and left a very defined impression, having been directly in the path of the Maiden of Anguish, he had taken the brunt of the shockwave she had lashed out at them with. Even as he fell to the ground, the half-demon's mind reeled.  
He had not expected the Lesser Evil to be so large, and the sheer horror of what she had done to the former battle-eagle's body was as much an insult as it was vile.

But what was more, Elric felt, that her attack had been stronger than Diablo's when he had faced the demon in Tristram, a dangerous thought as even back then, the Lord of Terror had made it a point to torment and humble the half-demon in every aspect.

Looking around, Elric tried to determine the fate of the others and realized that they were all laying very still in various places around the room.

'No' he thought. 'They couldn't be dead, not just like that from one shot'

At last his train of thought ended as Elric's body slumped to the ground behind the pool of blood tail first, his bones feeling as though they had all been shattered.

'No…' Elric willed his limbs to move, pushing himself beyond the limits of pain in an attempt to stand on his own four legs.

Something that was denied him as a powerful clawed hand grasped around his torso and heaved him into the air.

In an instant, not even Elric's tail was touching the ground as the Maiden of Anguish stepped back over the blood pool with Elric in hand.

"You have caused me SUCH grief, Cub… You know that don't you?" The lesser evil cooed, her voice a dangerous mix of honey and venom that reminded Elric a great deal of Blood Raven when she spoke sweetly.

Not one to surrender while being tormented, Elric swung his tail up, hoping to cause at least a gash in the demon-queen before she killed him, but was hampered as Andariel grabbed at the base of his tail and squeezed, crushing the bones inside.

"WWWWWWWWWWAAAAARRRRKKKKKKKK!" Elric let out a long, pained cry, his body racked with agony as the new pain mixed with older, stale injuries. Now, pressed beyond anything that he had ever done before, the half-demon's body twitched as he whimpered softly.

"Wh….what…" He managed to form, trying everything he could to keep him head straight. "What did you do to them…?"

"Oh… The humans?" Andariel mocked the pain-stricken demon with a playful tone, as if she were actually sorry for what she had done. "Just a little venom mixed with the air. I assure you that they are all QUITE gone now. Although I have to admit. Such a waste. What you did here was no small feat and I must say, Half-Breed… I am seriously impressed."

"Save it for someone who will be intimidated, Bitch-Queen" Elric puffed up, and was rewarded by being slammed into the wall again, deepening the impression that he had made before.

"I am not refering to them, Half-breed. I am talking about you." Andariel cooed again in her bitter-sweet voice, this time taking on what seemed to be a more curious tone.

"Such a wondrous specimen. What are you? Not a regular half-breed…that much is certain." Noting the half-demon's silence, Andariel released her grip of Elric's now ruined tail and brought one claw up to his exposed belly, running a claw down his scales with just enough pressure to draw blood and make the little demon arch his back in pain.

"Oh how I would relish the chance to peel back those lovely, shiny little scales and find out for myself just what lies under this demon skin. But I simply don't have the time. So I will ask you myself."

"What ARE you? A demon trying to fit in with human? Or some frightened, cursed little boy with a morbid little monster lurking inside you?"

Elric found himself gasping for breath as he struggled to keep his thoughts straight, forcing himself to buy more time.

"Neither!…" He started, but then realized that what he said was hardly true. His teeth chattering in his head, he tried to answer."…or…both… I..I DON'T KNOW!"

"Well, little one, as a 'Favor' to you… before I send you to oblivioun, I'll tell you. What you are…little half-breed…is a fool." She shook him about and then moved to the side so that Elric could better see the six prone figures that lie sprawled out on the ground among the corpses of the monsters they had killed.

"What you see is what is inevitable. To think that you HONESTLY believed that these pathetic mortal whelps had any chance against a goddess…" The Maiden of Anguished laughed cruelly, her confidence in victory absolute.

Why then was it that something about the scene made Elric feel as though he still had a chance.  
For whatever reason, Andariel held the demon up again, putting them face to snout and eye to eye.

"There never was much hope for you…or any of them. You've chosen the wrong side, and for that, the punishment is the eternal pains of hell." Andariel smiled wickedly, wondering what glories she would have heaped upon her for this medial task.

And Elric's mind suddenly realized what in the scene was missing…and saw the one opening that he had left. So, without drawing any attention to himself, he pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

"Any last words….Half-breed?" Andariel cooed, bringing her free claw up to bear and scratching Elric slightly under the chin.

"Yeah…." Elric closed his eyes and smiled, the bile in his mouth hissing as his tongue started to burn. "Just two…."

Andariel looked the half-demon in the eyes again, curious as to his response.

A moment passed in silence…

"SUPER LOOGIE!" Elric shouted, his tongue burning away completely and a bit of green gunk spilling over his lips and making Andariel pull back slightly before the half-demon spat a mouthful of foaming green acid straight into Andariel's eyes.

"AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" The Maiden of Anguish, who had never before experienced mortal pain took a step back and released the half-breed, using the extra hand to grasp her burnt face.

Now as Elric looked up, he realized just how large a mistake the arrogant Bitch-Queen had made as the bony, cynical necromancer darted out from his hiding place behind the door, dagger in hand and quickly slashed at the back of her hoof-like legs, sending up a puff of black smoke before releasing a torret of blood.

"CATHIM?" Elric could hardly believe what he was seeing. "HOW?"

"You should know better than to try and poison a necromancer!" Cathim said, turning about and slashing again at the howling Evil, cutting into the other leg with the small dagger before the blade shattered against her leg.

Now a new scent assaulted Elric's sensitive nose, the last thing that he would have expected while hearing the cries of the Maiden of Anguish.

Her blood…

It smelled like…  
Oil….

The enormity of it clicked in an instant. This was why Andariel hated non-magical fire…her blood was flammable!  
Bounding with a new-found energy, or what little of it he had left, Elric locked the pain of his crushed tail and wounds in a small corner of his mind and dived at Cathim, rolling with the necromancer out of the way before focusing on the one thing that he had been neglecting his entire time in this place.

His own fiery magic.

He had next to no mana of course…but he did not need much.

All that Elric needed…was that one…little….spark.

Like a miniature sun, the blood suddenly ignited, first spreading to the small pool spilt by the still screaming and agonizing Andariel, and then up the stream of blood and into the veins of the Lesser Evil.

In a single moment of agony, Andariel realized her impending fate and attempted to flee, tried to force herself from this wrecked, ruined body and find a new host so that she could crush these meddlers.

But she could not.

Something kept her anchored to the pain.

Feeling the fire move inside her body and begin to scorch her inner workings, the Bitch-Queen realized what had happened. The while she had been distracted by her victory, one of the humans had somehow overcome her poisons and in her moment of surprise, had cut into her with a weapon forged of Demon's Bane.  
And now… the blade was stuck inside her, rooting her demonic spirit to the doomed body as surely as a spike would bind a human.

And for the first time in her existence….  
Andariel, a scourge upon humanity, the Maiden of Anguish… was truly afraid.

In that instant of realization, the fire reached Andariel's shriveled…blackened heart… and exploded outward in a maelstrom of flame. Incinerating her body from the inside out and obliterating her spirit inside it.

Thoughts raced as flame erupted from her body, shooting upward and scorching the roof of the catacombs. Sparks and spurts of flame of all sides began to erupt from her body, causing pain like nothing that she had ever felt before.

'How could this have happened?' She wondered though the pain. 'She could not have been defeated…. She was a goddess. And this feeling…this…fading… this was death?'

Somewhere between fear and outrange and downright disbelief, the single question arose. One that she felt was the answer to all that had happened…the answer to this absurd defeat.

Using the last bit of her strength, Andariel turned her burning skull and melting eyes towards the one who had done this to her.

"Whh…." She gasped out in pain,… "WHHoooooo AAARrreee YOOooouuuu?"

The half-demon's shining green eyes glared back, unable to answer truly.

"WHO ARE YOU?" Andariel screamed out just before the integrity of her eyes deteriorated.

She watched as the details of the half-breed's outline began to fade into a silhouette on a fiery background… and then as the green eyes were replaced by balls of flame.

Now, before her eyes, the silhouette twisted. Changed, and yet, stayed very much the same as it grew larger in her eyes...more powerful and more menacing.

And the horns…the large, sleek horns that pulled back from his crest…. They were…familiar….

And the an aspect more frightening than her own death suddenly rang out as she realized she recognized this shape.

"You…? Darbash Halith…? .No…NNOOO! YOU'RE DEAD! THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER! IT GOES AGAINST EVERYTHING! THERE CAN NEVER BE ANOTHER!"

Now…her final words spoken, the Maiden of Anguish roared one last, horrified roar as her body fell to ashes. And her spirit, which had battled with directly with the commanders of heaven.. Faded to nothingness.

Andariel…The Maiden of Anguish…. Was defeated.

------------------------------------

"What did she say?" Elric was enthralled by Andariel's last words. She knew him… she had known something of what he was. So enthralled that he did not notice that the entire chamber was shaking until Cathim screamed in his ear.

"IT'S A REPEAT OF THE HALLWAY! THE FIRE HAS WEAKENED THE MORTAR! IT'S GOING TO COLLAPSE!"

Realizing what the Necromancer said was true, Elric set aside the question that was burning in his head and turned to the pressing matter at hand, getting everybody out alive.

"CATHIM! WHERE IS THE PORTAL SCROLL?" Elric shouted over the shaking, trying to keep himself calm despite the fact that stones were already falling from the ceiling.

"YOU HAD IT!" Cathim returned, his expression suddenly very fearful.

Now, Elric realized, was a time to panic…

He DID have the only portal scroll, and he had it when they had fell…which meant that it was still back with his false skin under the rubble of the collapsed hallway.

The horrid rumbling then became strict chaos as the ceiling collapsed and hundred of thousands of pounds of stones and dirt came down on top of the eight companions…. Sure to bury them forever.

Then all went black in the eyes of the half-demon…and a familiar sweet scent assaulted his nose while a harmonic ring filled his ears.

"Tyrael…?" Elric's senses went reeling as the pain and exhaustion overtook him.

And then all of the half-breed's senses went dark.

--------------------------------------------

The pillar of fire and explosion following lit the sky like a wild-fire in the east. And Akara announced immediately that she had felt the great evil lift off of the land.  
The Rogues could not believe what they were seeing.

Such as sign had eluded all of their hopes for so long.

But one, Deckard Cain, watched not the sky… but the road coming back.

Too many lives had already been lost. And he was not willing to accept that they who had done this were all gone.

Surprised indeed was he when he was suddenly blinded by a pure white light out of the corner of his eye…and when it faded, he turned to see seven valiant men and women and one heroic half-demon lying on the ground.

Calling for aid, Deckard Cain dashed to them, already his mind hard at work thinking of how to save each of them.

And in that moment Cain wept, realizing the blessing that the world had just received.

That the heavens had brought back Heroes greater even than those that the Lord of Terror had taken from them.

And for that…he was thankful.  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Act 1: Epilogue-

"Your actions, Tyrael…."

"Were beyond your…."

"…Station."

The Crystal Council had reconvened immediately following the action that Tyrael had taken and now all three of the members were outraged by what they saw as a direct act of disobedience against the spirit of their wishes.

"The Mortals must…"

"…defend themselves."

"Once more you show…"

"…Your inability to make sound…."

"…Judgment concerning the…"

"…Mortal Realms."

"I did what I thought was right!" Tyrael declared, his own confidence in his choice shining as clearly as his wings. "I did not interfere with the battle, nor did I in any way influence it's outcome. Elric Tasslewind and his companions toppled and have forever rid the world of Andariel's insidious presence."

"As you say…"

"…indeed it is a…"

"…Victory for the heavens."

"And you justify…"

"…that your actions to move…"

"…these mortals had nothing to do…"

"…with your past relationship with…"

"…the half-breed?"

"They earned their lives when they faced down Andariel." Tyrael stated clearly, neither admitting or denying their charge.

"Then we do not…"

"…believe your judgment was…"

"…Wrong…. Only perhaps…"

"…A bit…too generous."

Tyrael nodded, showing his respect to the council as he pressed other matters.

"I thank you of course, Council Members. Now as to my previous request."

"We have conferred…"

"…and we have decided…"

"…Your request…"

"…is approved…"

At this moment, Tyrael was thankful for his deep, impenetrable cowl as he would not have wanted the Council to have seen his relief.

" This will be…"

"…Your LAST allowance…"

"…on the mortal world…"

"…Go there, and do what…"

"…You feel must be done."

"I go now, Council Members." Tyrael bowed and began to take his leave.

"Tyrael…"

"…Keep in mind…"

"…That when you are exhausted…"

"…and pulled back from their world…"

"…any further interferance…"

"…with the mortal realm…"

"…Will force us to…"

"…Strip you of your command…."

"…And status."

Tyrael nodded. He had expected as much.

All the more reason that he HAD to succeed in this last mission to the mortal realm, while he still had the power to prevent what was coming.  
Leaving the council chamber, Tyrael could not help but wonder if concealing the truth of Elric Tasslewind and what he could become from the council was wise. As an Arch-Angel, he had of course never lied…but he had found that..withholding the truth was at times a necessity.

In the end, Tyrael decided that he could not go back on his word and had no choice but to accept the consequences of what he had done.

And as he prepared to leave for his last time for the world of Sanctuary…. Tyrael realized that now, Elric Tasslewind and those that traveled with him were on their own.

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End Act-1.


End file.
